Week 6 – Continuing your personal statement

You are at least two thirds of your way through your personal statement already, well done!  Today’s blog will guide you through the last part.  There will be no blog next week during half term, but you will have this time to allow you to complete all the activities contained in this and last week’s blog, before submitting your personal statement…

When?  By Sunday 31^st May 

How?  Upload to Unifrog (see below)

Uploading your personal statement onto Unifrog

-          Go to https://www.unifrog.org/

-          Sign in (if you didn’t attend the initial sign up please email me for instructions or for password reset)

-          Scroll down to the “UK Personal Statement” box which is under “Drafting application materials” section

-          Ignore the 3-section framework….if this appears scroll down the page and select “Single box layout”

-          Click “Start”

-          Copy and paste your personal statement from your word document into the box.

-          Save as a new version

-          You do not need to do any further actions at this stage.  Just feel pleased with yourself for making this first big step towards your future!  Information for proof reading and feedback will begin after half term.

I have listed some useful resources at the end of this post too which I am sure you’ll find helpful.

Happy half term everyone, I hope you stay safe and well.

Writing paragraph 4 – Wider skills and qualities / extra-curricular (not subject specific)

Up to this point you have discussed your ENTHUSIASM for the subject, given EVIDENCE for this ENTHUSIASM from subject specific activities and also explained your skills and achievements which make you well suited to your chosen course/subject.  In this paragraph you will be discussing your wider transferrable skills.

Extra-curricular experiences are a major source of EVIDENCE for your personal statements.  Remember not to focus on what you did though, instead you should be focusing on the skills you gained from the experiences.

Universities will like to see any EVIDENCE of certain key skills such as responsibility, leadership, enterprise and originality or anything that shows evidence of working independently or under pressure.

Early Apps - Oxbridge and medic/vet/dentistry tutors are much less concerned about your extra-curricular interests (in favour of super curricular and relevant work experience), but please do write them down for now, and they can be edited down (or out!) later.

ACTIVITY 12 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Firstly you’re going to make a list of all the extra-curricular things you have done from which you’ll be able to draw your experiences.  It’s fine to mention particularly special achievements from when you were a little younger but you’ll sound much more credible to generally focus on more recent activities.

Here are a few pointers to put you in the right direction.  Add to this list and highlight about 3 sources which you’ll use to discuss your skills further.

·         Sports, particularly achievements within or with leading a team

·         Interests eg clubs/societies you are part of

·         NCS

·         DofE

·         Roles eg SU / prefect / ambassadors

·         Part time jobs

ACTIVITY 13 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Below you’ll find a list of general skills that might be of interest to admissions tutors.  Try and extend this list with a few more key skills you can think of yourself, and then highlight 3 key skills that you think you’ll be able to demonstrate as strengths that you have.

·         Dedication

·         Resilience

·         Problem solving

·         Organisation

·         Ability to work to a deadline

·         Working under pressure

·         Working independently

·         Working well with others

ACTIVITY 14 – CONTINUING ON YOUR WORD DOCUMENT

Now you’re going to demonstrate that you have these skills!  It’s tricky to get the balance between rambling about background information that’s not important and including enough detail to show you really do have this skill!  Give it a go and remember you’ll receive advice on feedback on what to include / what to add later on.  For now it’s about getting something down on paper so….

Write about each of the skills you identified in activity 13 using examples from your extra-curricular experiences listed in activity 12.  Use 1-2 sentences for each of the 3 skills. This is paragraph 4!  Here are a couple of pointers:

Make sure your focus is on skills and/or achievements, not the extra-curricular activity itself…

E.g.

“Every Saturday throughout the year I play hockey with my local hockey club which is something I have been doing for four years now.  We have completed in several tournaments and we placed second in our league last season.”

vs

“I have been dedicated to playing hockey on weekends which has required careful time management.  My role within the team and my ability to work well under pressure has contributed to our success this season.”

It’s even better if you can try not to state your skills explicitly…

E.g.

“I have skills in public speaking…”

vs

“Participating in a debating group has improved my confidence and ability to speak to a large group…”

Writing paragraph 5 – Closing paragraph

The closing paragraph is a formality to sum up your personal statement.  It should be just 1-2 sentences.  You want to give a memorable encapsulation of yourself AND why the university should take you over other applicants.  Make sure it leaves the right lasting impression!  It is quite difficult not to sound a bit cheesy and I actually think this is the hardest paragraph.  You’ll probably change it a few times before you send off.

ACTIVITY 15 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Read the sentence starters below.  Try and complete each sentence with something that makes sense for you and your application.  You’re obviously welcome to write your own sentence starters too.

·         “I feel that learning further about X will enable me to…”

·         “I am to gain knowledge and skills in X so…”

·         “I believe that my skills X,Y,Z, will…”

·         “I hope that by working as X, I will be…”

ACTIVITY 16 – CONTINUING ON YOUR WORD DOCUMENT

Add your favourite closing paragraph from activity 15 onto your personal statement.

Useful resources

Myself and the college team are being sent lots of emails with links to various resources universities are providing online as a result of Covid-19.  Each week I am going through these and picking out the bits that I think are most helpful for you.  Each week I’ll replicate the links I’ve already sent and add a few more so you’ll always be able to find all these resources at the end of every blog.

You should dip into these, but you really don’t need to be looking at everything on every link I send!  I’ve provided a synopsis on each, so take your pick of any that take your fancy.

A note about Open Days and Taster Days…from what I can gather, most universities are offering events online this term and hoping to run actual events in the Autumn (if circumstances allow) which means you can do some initial research in the summer and then hopefully will be able to narrow down your options with actual visits in the Autumn.  Below are some online events that have come to my attention but you’ll find many more by exploring any university’s website.  A future blog will be dedicated to choosing a course / choosing a university, but I’m sharing the resources on taster days and open days as I get them in case you wish to pre-register. 

 

New resources:

·         Super Curricular ideas – VERY useful links for ideas to explore your subject in your own time to give you plenty to discuss in your personal statement, including podcasts, masterclasses and lots of subject specific resources.

·         Uni Taster Tuesdays – Each week on Tuesdays at 12pm.  This looks like a great resource with online events which combine different topics and with contributions from different universities. 

·         Royal Holloway – Book your place for Online Open Days 19^th and 20^th June.

·         Royal Holloway – Book your place for Online Taster Days, various subjects, dates in June and July.

·         University of Brighton – Subject specific Q&A events: Health / Social Science / Art and Design / Business, Law or Events / Computing, Maths or Engineering / Geography, Construction or Environment / Science.

·         Pathways to university – if you are really confused about your options this document outlines them all.  The links on page 3 look particularly useful and I’ll be referring to these in a future blog.

·         Oxbridge Applicants

o   Oxbridge – A mega document with links to super-curricular academic material

o   University of Cambridge – Open Day events

·         Medics.  Please can you let me know if you are provisionally interested in the following (no commitment at this stage).

o   UCAT course – Medics, I am trying to get a discount code for this course so you would pay £60 for 4 weeks membership (instead of £100) I will let you know if I do.  I would suggest trying out the free demo first to see if this is something you would like to do.

o   TMP MedSoc – This programme of modules costs £25 per student, but again I have applied for a school discount and will let you know when they get back to me.

·         BMAT – This is a reminder of the courses requiring BMAT (Some medicine, biomed and dentistry).  If you think you are going to be taking this please email me and I will forward you a presentation on the BMAT.

From previous blog posts:

·         University of Portsmouth “Getting Started at Uni” webinars.  Upcoming sessions include “Understanding the UCAS process”.

·         University of Leicester “Wednesday Wisdom” webinars.  You are asked to register in advance,  upcoming sessions include “Choosing a Course and Choosing a Uni” and “Personal Statements”.

·         University of Southampton “Virtual Open Day”

·         University of Birmingham – Personal statement video

·         Early Apps

o   OSCS website for Oxbridge applicants – online sessions on “The Student Experience and Applying to Oxford and Cambridge”, “Making a Competitive Application”, and “Student Q&A panel with current University students”

o   Admission test info Here I’ve linked my own blog (!) but only because I provided lots of links in the section on admissions test, here you’ll be able to find the sections relevant to you.

Week 5 – Starting your personal statement!!

This week you are going to begin writing your personal statement.  If you’ve been reading the blog posts up to this point you will have been introduced to the importance of your personal statement and had some advice on getting ready to begin (if you haven’t read them, please do at least read post 4 and watch this link). 

Today you will begin draft 1 and I’d really encourage you not to overthink it too much if you can avoid it, just follow the guidelines below and get something down on paper.  Once you’ve gone through the process once you can then either repeat the process again with a  brand new draft (especially if you change your subject choice) or you can refine it, condensing the points you made and adding extra substance.  This sounds daunting at first but honestly, once you get going it becomes much easier!

You’ll be proof reading it yourself and with the help of your family to check for spelling, grammar etc and in June you will receive your first round of feedback from your tutors.  You will receive additional feedback from your tutors/teachers in the Autumn term.

Important key points about the personal statement…

·         There are two key features that need to shine throughout:

       ENTHUSIASM - talking convincingly about your passion for the subject

       EVIDENCE - talking critically about the things you have done that prove your passion.

·         When discussing your experiences, don’t just say that you have done them, you need to DESCRIBE the issues CRITICALLY and ANALYTICALLY.

·         Keep it CLEAR, SIMPLE and CONCISE.  Think about paragraph 3 in the feedback activity last week. You don’t need to use complicated language to write a good personal statement.

·         Write about what you HAVE DONE and not what you hope to do – if you find you lack examples to write about then put that on your to-do list and add it in as soon as you have accomplished the actions.

And just a couple more points before we begin…

·         DON’T look at model personal statements online or from older friends/relatives yet.  You’ll be tempted to follow them and it will stop being personal.  Write your first couple of drafts and then you can seek out ideas for improving.  We have a bank of excellent personal statement examples which you can have access to later on in the process if needed.

·         Anything you write about in your personal statement could be used as a discussion point at interview so use this to your advantage!

So let’s begin…  you will write paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 this week.  I suggest doing these in 3 separate sessions and I would estimate that if you work steadily without overthinking too much (remember this is just draft 1) each one will take 30-45 minutes.  Each session is broken into smaller activities for you.  Good luck, and as always, please do email me if you have any concerns.

Early apps.

Oxbridge applicants will be following the same structure below as we have used an Oxbridge style template as our guide for all applicants, however when giving examples in your personal statement, please ensure you focus almost entirely on your super-curricular activities and avoid discussing too much from your A level courses.

Vet/medic/dentistry applicants, again you’ll follow this same format but your examples for discussions would ideally be from your work experience, but where this is not possible your other super curricular activities will be great!

Writing paragraph 1 – why have you chosen this subject or course?

In this paragraph you will be trying to convey your ENTHUSIASM, but you’ll save EVIDENCE for later on.  Your task is to convince an admissions tutor that you are genuinely excited to do this course and you will be committed to it. 

When you join a university course, you will be paying them about £9K a year…if you drop out the course still runs but without the funding for subsequent years.  About 1 in 16 students drop out in their  first year, often because of the wrong course-choice.  It sounds a bit cold and harsh but universities want to welcome students who are likely to complete their courses!

ACTIVITY 1 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Look at the opening sentences below, try and write 3 similar sentences of your own, then highlight your favourite.

·         I want to study a degree in…because…

·         My love for…began when…

·         … is a field/subject vital to…because…

ACTIVITY 2 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Write several short statements using the following bullet points as a guide.  Read them back to yourself aloud and highlight any that are more unique to you (rather than statements that could apply to just about anyone or be about any course if you were to changed the subject).

·         List 3 topics from related A level courses you have particularly enjoyed? Why?

·         List 3 reasons why is it important that people study this subject/course?

·         List 3 reasons how this subject/course plays to your strengths?

·         What are your longer term plans and how do they link to this course?

ACTIVITY 3 – ON A WORD DOCUMENT

Combining the parts that you highlighted in activity 1 and 2, write your first paragraph.  You should aim to use 2-4 of your ideas from activity 2, depending on how much you expand on each of them.

Writing paragraph 2 – EVIDENCE for ENTHUSIASM for the subject (using EVIDENCE from academic experiences to show you have a passion for the subject)

This paragraph tells the admissions tutor more about your ENTHUSIASM for the subject/course.  You will include EVIDENCE of this ENTHUSIASM.  You will refer to your A Level / BTEC courses but anything you discuss which is beyond the specifications of your courses will show a genuine interest and be that much more convincing.

In this paragraph, you will focus on academic experiences which will convey you have a passion for this subject/course. 

ACTIVITY 4 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Make a list of all the specific examples of academic things you have done (for now you can just list that you have done them) that link to your subject area of interest.  The things in the list below are examples of the types of things you can list.

·         A module/chapter within your A level/BTEC course that you are particularly interested in

·         News / fashionable topics / new ideas in the field

·         EPQ if it is related to your course

·         Future Learn courses / MOOCs

·         Further reading of books / journals / articles / magazines

·         Documentaries watched / blogs followed / podcasts listened to

·         Lectures and courses attended

·         Relevant work experience

ACTIVITY 5 – ON ROUGH PAPER

For each of the things you listed in activity 4, write the following. 

·         1 reason you found it to be interesting  / informative / important

·         1 thing you learnt from the experience

·         1 thing that it inspired you to do as a result

·         At least 1 more thing.

ACTIVITY 6 – ON ROUGH PAPER

From your notes in activity 4 and 5, choose and highlight about 3 that you’ll write about in your personal statement.  It’s much better to discuss a couple in depth than to list lots of things but not give any substance.

Have a quick reflection…have you got enough to write about?  If not, there is plenty of time to do something about it!  Use the ideas mentioned in my previous blog posts, aiming to have more to add before the end of May!

ACTIVITY 7 – CONTINUING ON YOUR WORD DOCUMENT

Using the notes you highlighted above, write up your bullet points into full sentences.

This is paragraph 2!  You can re-jig it a bit, but again, I do encourage you not to overthink or overwork it at this point if you can help yourself!

Writing paragraph 3 – Evidence of skills and achievements from your academic work

Universities want to see, that you not only have passion for the subject but that you have the qualities necessary to be successful at it.  In paragraph 3 you will write about the EVIDENCE that shows you have the skills to make you successful and well suited to the course.  In this paragraph you are encouraged to use examples from your subject specific work if at all possible (paragraph 4 will draw on your wider experiences such as part time jobs and sports). 

ACTIVITY 8 – ON ROUGH PAPER

Your task here is to identify the key skills or characteristics that would make someone successful in your chosen field.  The kinds of skills I’m talking about might include any of the following: Problem solving / communication / analysis / ability to research / ability to keep calm under pressure / ability to think logically / being flexible and adaptable.

But you can (and should) try and think of your own to add to this list using the additional bullet point prompts I’ve given you.

·         Are you applying to a course which leads to a specific job or career area?  If so, what qualities would a successful person in this career area have? Use this link to find skills linked to careers.

·         Are you applying for a subject specific course?  If so, have a look on the course area of any university website to see if you can find any skills they look for.

·         Are you applying for a subject specific course?  If so, what jobs might your chosen course lead onto?  What qualities would people in these field have?

ACTIVITY 9 – ON ROUGH PAPER

You are now going to try and give EVIDENCE that you have these skills. Select and highlight about 3 key skills from your list above and make a couple of notes linking to it using some of these bullet points as prompts:

·       What situation have you been in where you have had to demonstrate this skill? 

·         What did you do?  What was the outcome?

·         If you can’t think of an example, think of some experience you can gain over the Summer to demonstrate it.

ACTIVITY 10 – CONTINUING ON YOUR WORD DOCUMENT

Using the notes you highlighted above, write up your bullet points into full sentences. Try not to state your skills explicitly eg “I have skills in public speaking…” but use varied sentence structure eg “Participating in a debating group has improved my confidence and ability to…”

This is paragraph 3!  You can re-jig it a bit, but again, I do encourage you not to overthink or overwork it at this point if you can help yourself!

ACTIVITY 11

This is an important one.  Rest and do not think about your personal statement for the rest of the week!  I can’t reiterate it enough….this is the first half of draft 1.  It’s your initial ideas.  It’s the basic structure.  By participating you have now got a feel about how your personal statement is structured.  You’ll be tweaking it many more times over the coming months AND receiving feedback on it so…..please have a break from it now! 😊

Week 4 - Getting ready to begin writing your personal statement

The most important message in this week’s blog is the following: Next week I will be guiding you to write the first half of your personal statement.  Spend some time this week deciding on one subject you’ll write about for the first draft of your personal statement. 

The key thing you’ll be learning is HOW to write a personal statement (how to structure it, how to talk about your experiences etc)….it doesn’t matter if you’re undecided about your university options at this stage because you can always write another draft at a later date on a different subject once you are familiar with the task itself.

•          If you don’t know what you’d like to study at university, choose your favourite out of the subjects you’re currently studying.
•          If you are choosing between a couple of options at the moment, select just one of them to write about next week. 

Keep up to date

Have a look at UCAS on Facebook and Twitter as there's some handy stuff on there like "Virtual Open Days" and info on Degree Apprenticeships. They could well be worth a follow.

As a result of Covid-19 lots universities are offering you access to all kinds of resources online.  Here are just a few that have drawn my attention, but you will find plenty more by looking on University Websites.  Just pick a university of your choice and have an explore!

University of Portsmouth “Getting Started at Uni” webinars

University of Leicester “Wednesday Wisdom” webinars

University of Southampton “Virtual Open Day”

University of Birmingham – Personal statement video which finishes with the quote below:

“We’re looking for applicants to convey a passion for the subject .  Is there something in particular you’ve had an interest in during your A levels or BTEC that you want to learn more about across three years? How will your degree help to contribute to the sort of career that you might want to go into? Or is it that you have set skills that you wish to develop through your degree? Or more broadly what’s the sort of person that you want to be when you leave university?

You’ll be studying with academics who live and breathe their subjects.  They do not only teach them; they also research them for a number of years and so we’re looking for students to demonstrate the same desire and interest that our academics have.”

That last bit is a good overall way to view the personal statement.  What things have you done that you will be able to write about in your personal statement to convince the admissions tutors for your course that you are passionate about your subject?

Activity on feedback

Last week I asked you to read the (shortened) personal statement example and have a go at giving some feedback using the hints I gave.  Here is my feedback on the 4 paragraphs:

Early App Focus

OCSC

In case you weren’t able to watch these live last Wednesday, the webinars are available online to watch at your convenience here.  I strongly encourage you to watch the one on making a competitive application in preparation of us beginning to write the personal statement next week. 

Super Curricular review

A reminder on what Super Curricular means (taken from OCSC video):

•          What you’ve done beyond the curriculum to explore for yourself and broaden your interest
•          Things you’ve done because you’re interested in them and show “independent enthusiasm”.
•          Can be broad, just need to show some links eg in an any science or maths for veterinary.
•          Other ideas include:  reading, competitions, EPQ.  Look at 7:30 on the video on applications, some of these ideas have already been shared with you through the blog.

I’ve LOVED hearing about all the Super Curricular activities that have been completed already or are being worked on at home during this time.  I can see some strong applicants emerging!  Here is a little summary that I am pleased to be able to share with you: