Personal Statements

Chris Garrett – Student Recruitment and Marketing Officer

The UCS Ipswich Campus

UCS Degrees

Student Life and Employment Prospects

Making University Choices

• What subject

• What degree

• Location

• Size/type of university

• Accommodation and social facilities

• Student support

The UCAS Application

• Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

• Apply online at www.ucas.com

• For 2014 entry, UCAS accept applications from September 2013

• 5 choices, or 4 (depending on subject)

• UCAS send your application to your chosen institutions

• An Admissions Officer will usually make the decision

• You can track your application online

• There are student / parent / staff sections of the website for advice

Important UCAS Dates

• 15 October

Applications to Cambridge, Oxford and courses in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science or veterinary medicine

• 15 January

Applications from UK and EU students to be guaranteed equal academic consideration

• 24 March

Applications for some art and design courses

• 31 March 2014

If you have applied by 15 January, the universities should have made their decisions by now (some may take longer)

• Early May/June

You have to make your final decision (Firm and Insurance)

UCAS: Personal Statement

• The personal statement is where YOU tell the universities why you want to study the course

• It can be typed directly onto the application form, or copied and pasted from a word document

• You are allowed 47 lines of text or up to 4000 characters (including full stops, commas and spaces)

• When checking your spelling, use the UK spell checker

UCAS: Personal Statement

• This should be your own work and provide details about:

- Why you want to study the course

- Relevant work experience

- Core skills

- Extra-curricular activities

- Positions of responsibility

• Take your time and start writing it early

Personal Statement: Subject Choice

• Explain why you want to study the subject(s) you are applying for

• Show commitment and motivation (How do you show this?)

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of what the subject entails

• Relate your current studies to the course

• Ensure you mention all the courses you are applying to, but not the universities

Personal Statement: Work Experience and Core Skills

• If you have any relevant work experience, use it to show an understanding of the career implications of your course

• The responsibilities

• The challenges

• The skills within the profession

• Emphasise the skills gained during work experience

• Show an insight into the area, rather than just a list of tasks

• Consider what experience you have that could be described as relevant experience

Personal Statement: Work Experience and Core Skills

“In order to find out more about Nursing, I have been volunteering in a local Nursing Home. My tasks have included helping residents with eating and washing, but as I have been there for 6 months, I have been given more responsibility. I regularly help the Nurses as they give medications and I attend team meetings where the future of the residents is discussed. I have enjoyed seeing how the Nurses interact with other professions, including physiotherapists and social workers, but also observing the different ways that Nurses communicate with the patients. Some of the patients have very different communication skills, which can be challenging, but I feel that my own communication skills has improved dramatically from working with them.”

Personal Statement: Work Experience and Core Skills

“While I have contacted a number of local business requesting work experience, I have not been able to get any. I therefore took the opportunity to become involved in the school newspaper, and my main responsibility is looking after the financial side and projecting the number of copies required each term. It has given me a good insight into the cooperation needed within any business, as well as negotiating with colleagues, financial management and time management.”

“I have a part-time job in a local supermarket, where I have worked for 18months. While it does not relate to English Literature, the skills I have gained there will be very useful for University study. I communicate with a range of people both within my team and the public – which can be challenging! I enjoy working with my colleagues and learning from them, and the experience has made me very patient. I have to manage my time carefully to fit my hours around my school work, but I know I will also have to do this at University. It is a really fun experience!”

Personal Statement: Hobbies and Achievements

• Demonstrate that there is more to you than just studying

• Show you have developed skills through school, hobbies and extra-curricular activities

• Describe any additional achievements or positions of responsibility

• Relate your hobbies and achievements to your degree

Personal Statement: Hobbies and Achievements

“I have been playing the Trumpet for 8 years, which I find incredibly enjoyable. I have to manage my time for independent practise and to play in the school band. Being a senior member of the band involves team work, and directing junior members – skills which will be useful for studying at University.”

“I have recently taken on a position in the charities committee at school. It involves speaking at assemblies and organising events to raise money for the local hospice, and my communication skills have improved in a very short space of time.”

“I was awarded a First Aid Certificate as a result of three weeks of regular training. Doing this on top of my A Levels was hard work, but incredibly rewarding. I had to be very organised – but this was useful experience for University.”

Structuring the PS

What proportion of the personal statement do you think should be focusing on academic work/interest?

70 %• Beginning: Introduce your subject and then move

on to describing your enthusiasm for it

• Have the most relevant information at the beginning and middle of the personal statement

• End: Conclude by reiterating what you want to study (and a key point about why!)

Editing

Once you get started, you may find you have too much to say! Edit carefully.

“I have been passionate about studying Radiography ever since I broke my arm when I was 8. The experience of going to hospital and having an X-Ray was exciting – and the professionalism of the staff was awe-inspiring. My work experience in a Radiography department made me even more determined to work in this area. I worked with a range of patients, from elderly to children to drunk students, all of whom had interesting and sometimes bizarre, injuries. I was able to observe a lot of different machines used by Radiographers, including X-Ray machines, MRI, CAT scans, and ultrasound. It was especially interesting to look at the pictures of people’s bones, but also to identify some of the key internal organs and their proximity to the bones.”

(745 characters)

Editing

“I have been passionate about studying Radiography since I broke my arm as a child, resulting in an exciting experience with an inspirational Radiographer in hospital. To find out more, I had 4 days in a Radiography department, where I worked with a range of patients including elderly people and children. Using machines including X-Rays, MRI, CAT scans and ultrasound, I observed interesting, and sometimes bizarre, injuries! It was particularly interesting to see the proximity of key internal organs to broken bones.”

(520 characters)

• 225 characters saved to be used for more discussion of work experience!

Spelling/Grammar Mistakes

• Pubic speaking

• Freind

• Specialized

• Psycology

• Pollitics

• “I really want to do English because I have loved it throughout GCSE and A level. But would prefer to work with novels instead of poetry.”

• “I love working with young people, and am particularly enthusiastic about working with them on sports and projects – particularly environmental ones.”

Frequently Asked Questions

• How important is the Personal Statement?

• Should I be funny or unique?

• Should I explain my disability/difficulties in school/problems at home in my personal statement?

• I am applying for different courses, can I write more than one personal statement?

• Will Admissions Officers think I am big-headed if I mention I am Head Boy?

• My teacher doesn’t like me. Can someone else write the Academic Reference?

What Happens Next?

• Start (finish!) researching Universities and courses

• Attend the HEC, open days, and the UCS visit

• Get started on the Personal Statement

• Register with UCAS and complete the ‘easy’ stuff!

• Show your PS draft to teachers, family – anyone you trust to give you an honest opinion

• Ensure the application is completed on-time

• Prepare for interviews/auditions/portfolio reviews (from January)

• Student finance

Any Questions?

Contact us:

schools@ucs.ac.uk

www.ucs.ac.uk

Open Events:

Saturday 28 September, 11am-3pm

Saturday 2 November, 11am-3pm