Ucas applications: how to write a personal statement

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In the five or so years that comprise the labour of A-levels and the
culmination of an undergraduate degree, most people will write two important
documents. The first, a personal
statement
. The second, a dissertation.

The pair have some elements in common: for me, they were the two most
pored-over, rewritten documents saved on my laptop. The former was the
gateway into university, the latter, the security key card that let me out.

The other thing they have in common is that plenty of unsolicited advice is
doled out as to how to write them. This can be condensed into “start early,
and take it seriously”. The third similarity is that if you want to complete
a university degree, they are necessary evils.

I look back fondly at writing my personal statement, so I asked my flatmate
what she thought about writing hers. The first world that came to mind?
“Annoying.” The second: “Embarrassing.” Why? “Because I had to write about
myself.” Had you ever done that before? “Never.”

According to the Ucas website, “Course tutors use personal statements to
compare applicants, so try to make yours stand out.” Sadly, this tip
excludes creativity: you can’t colour it in, or hand it in on a PowerPoint
presentation. It has to be submitted via the Ucas website, which doesn’t
lend itself well to graphic design. So the individuality is all down to the
writer.

Ucas also suggests that applicants “avoid mentioning universities or colleges
by name, and ideally choose similar subjects”. Ucas is warning here about
the dangers of applying for two different subjects at two different
universities, and trying to make one personal statement fit both. Tutors
reading the statements may well sniff this out.

“If you’ve made the subject you’re applying for ambiguous, then on interview
day, tutors might question your dedication,” postgraduate student Lauren
Cantillon points out. “Writing a personal statement is, in some ways, an
exercise in working out whether you have a real interest in your subject.”
All the more reason to get on with it in good time.

The first hard and fast rule of personal statement writing is not to lie.
Natasha Daniels, an English & Linguistics graduate from the University
of Sheffield
, explains to me exactly why.

“Writing my application, I said I was really interested in other languages
(not true) and that I was currently learning Japanese (not true). Once I’d
got in, my personal tutor, who had studied our personal statements to get to
know us better, put me up for a module on Japanese morphophonology. I had to
confess when I had spent two hours in complete and utter bafflement.”

But lying isn’t the only big “no” in the writing of personal statements.
Another is dropping in potentially interesting items without substantiation.
According to Joyce Connell, the Ucas and Oxbridge Specialist at Holland Park
Tuition & Education Consultants: “The worst examples emphasise an
interest or understanding in particular subject areas without explaining
why.”

But there’s more to the personal statement – more that makes it important –
than just pleasing an admissions officer. It is also a personal challenge –
a focused task in which you are allowed to write exclusively about yourself.

The document gives you a chance to pat yourself on the back for your
extra-curricular activities, and is a space where you can be honest about
why you love your chosen subject.

No one, your parents and teachers aside, is likely to read it apart from
someone with a pronounced interest in the subject you are applying for. So
if you love calculus, for example, tell them: chances are they love
calculus, too, and they will want to hear why at your interview.

I wonder whether the application to university puts extra-curricular
activities “up for auction” a bit. Cantillon agrees: “From the age of about
14 or 15 the thought was put into my head to ask, 'What can you do to make
yourself appealing to universities?’ It turns your hobbies into bait – you
pursue them so that you can look good on your applications, which can make
you resent the whole process.”

I did a quick straw poll among my friends, and many confirmed that their
primary motivation for “suffering” to attain bronze, silver and gold Duke of
Edinburgh’s Awards was for university interviews.

So how should the personal statement actually read?

“Each sentence should explicitly explain and specifically demonstrate why the
candidate would make an excellent student in his or her chosen university
subject,” Connell says.

But don’t overdo the verbal finesse, advises Anne-Marie Canning, Head of
Widening Participation at King’s
College London
. “Often, applicants will use a thesaurus to spruce up
their personal statements with more complicated language. There’s no need to
do this – we simply want to hear your voice and your reasons for choosing
the subject.”

It does no harm to express your hopes and ambitions for the future – at least
as far as they apply to your chosen subject. “In hindsight, I would have
talked more about my reasons for choosing the subject – my plans on how I
wanted to use it after my degree,” young entrepreneur Will Roberts, 20,
tells me.

“The reality is, though, that most students just don’t know [what they want to
do] aged 17. But I think it gives the admissions tutor a deeper
understanding of the person.”

Although the writing of the dreaded personal statement might seem
old-fashioned and clunky in the modern age, it is a useful task for life, as
well as university. “I’ve had to write personal statements in job
applications, and for my Master’s degree,” Cantillon says. “A covering
letter sent with a CV is essentially a personal statement – only it’s for a
job rather than a university place.

"It is a valuable experience; I remember my father saying, 'you’re going
to be applying for things for the rest of your life’, so it’s really good
practice in a controlled environment where you can have someone to look at
it and help you before you hand it in.”

The timing of the personal statement writing counts for a lot, too. “Even if
you’re not applying for Oxbridge or medical school [as these applications
are required earlier than the rest], just get it handed in,” LSE
graduate James Deacon insists.

“There’s no point fussing over it – you have to do it if going to university
is what you want. It seems a big ask, but it is ultimately your ticket
through the door.”

Don’t copy anyone, or the Internet. This is good practice for university,
where essays can be checked with anti-plagiarising software

Don’t lie, even if you consider it “Just an exaggeration”

If you are passionate about something, say so – don’t be afraid of sounding
geeky

Check your spellings – especially names which Spellcheck might miss

 Avoid clichés

Get on with it!

Eleanor Doughty tweets at @brushingboots

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Article references
www.telegraph.co.uk