B. UCAS Personal Statements

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B. UCAS Personal Statements
An opportunity to tell Universities why they
should select you
Dr Jeremy Rawson, Undergraduate Admissions Tutor,
Magdalene College.
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UCAS Personal Statements

• Are you portraying the right image?

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UCAS Personal Statements Overview

• Key Points to Consider
• What to Include
• Dos and Donts
• Size and Presentation
• Plagiarism
• One approach to writing your personal statement

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General Structure of a Personal Statement
Your motivation for the course Why are you
interested? How long? What initiated your
interest? Extracurricular activities further
reading/study - and work experience (if
appropriate) which have helped confirm your
decision.

• Beginning
• Middle
• End

More about yourself your extracurricular
activities and interests. Try to tie in relevant
personal characteristics and skills to the course
itself.
Try and work on a concluding paragraph which
re-emphasises your motivation/anticipation/excitem
ent for study at a Higher level. Also include
future aspirations here if you have them and/or
how your proposed gap year will enhance your
suitability.
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Points to Consider 1

• Make sure it is literate
• This is often the only piece of written work from
  you which a Course Director has so he/she can
  examine your written style
• Essential for Arts/Humanities subjects where
  course directors will be looking for an ability
  to form well-constructed prose.
• Check structure - grammar spelling -
  punctuation

History Applicant (middle section)
In my free time I take part in a number of
activities including tennis and mountain walking.
These are particularly satisfactory hobbies, as
although they require hard work and practise,
there are few things greater than the sense of
achievement experienced when you win a match, or
make it to the top of the mountain. It is this
sense of achievement that has driven me to summit
all 14 peaks over 3,000 feet in Snowdonia.
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Points to Consider 2

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

• If you are applying for different courses at
  different universities
• Bear in mind that your UCAS application is for
  all your courses
• Try not to tailor it to one specific
  course/institution
• Try to ensure that you aim for common themes of
  interest in your statement.
• Usually easy(ish) for similar courses such as
  Natural Sciences vs Physics but you might wish to
  discuss this with a careers advisor for more
  diverse subject combinations.
• Be prepared to justify why you have chosen
  alternative courses at different Universities

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Points to consider 2
Example Chemistryor Chemistry-with-French
Application?
An opening gambit

• What I love about chemistry is the constant
  sense of discovery looking at the simplest
  reactions on a molecular level is like glimpsing
  a whole new world. I am keen to learn at the
  cutting edge of current knowledge and to
  contribute to new discoveries. During the course
  of my degree I hope to take part in some
  research after leaving university I am looking
  to work in science, possibly in research, and
  some experience will almost certainly come in
  useful. I would also like to continue my study of
  French at university I think it is a beautiful
  language and one of my ambitions is to become
  fluent.

A suggested revision
What I love about chemistry is the constant
sense of discovery looking at the simplest
reactions on a molecular level is like glimpsing
a whole new world. I am keen to learn at the
cutting edge of current knowledge and to
contribute to new discoveries. I relish the
opportunity to undertake some original research
during my degree and such experiences will be
invaluable after leaving university when I hope
to work in science. Academic and industrial
research now revolve about a global market in
which communication skills are essential. Whilst
at school I have thoroughly enjoyed the
opportunity to study French to A2 level alongside
my sciences and I am enthusiastic to continue
this formally or informally at University.
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Points to consider 3

• c) Try to link your academic and personal
  abilities and experiences to your course
• It may help to draw up a list of your hobbies and
  experiences and see how you can use them to
  support your course structure (without being too
  tenuous!)
• Try to embellish your discussion with some
  relevant detail as to why something motivates you.

Law Applicant (beginning)
From a young age, I have been fascinated by law
and was thrilled at the possibility of studying
it at A-Level. In August 2007, I was able to
spend two weeks working at
Solicitors in . Most of my
time was spent in the Conveyancing department,
where , a partner in the
firm, taught me how to draw up commercial leases
and business contracts, and about buying, selling
and renting residential properties.
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Points to Consider 4

• d) Trying to make your statement stand out
• It is tempting to use humour, quotes or jokes to
  make your personal statement stand out. Be
  warned-
• These often appear formulaic and do not always
  have the desired effect.
• The Course Director might not appreciate your
  sense of humour dont forget they may have
  several hundred to read!
• Sincere interest and enthusiasm usually work best.

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Points to Consider 5

• e) Your personal statement is often the only
  thing that an interviewer knows about you know
  and be prepared to answer questions on what you
  have written!

Another Chemistry Applicantand another
beginning!
I first became interested in Chemistry at GCSE
level as this was the first time that I had
studied the sciences separately. I found it a
subject that I understood and have continued to
find thoroughly enjoyable and achieve very well
in. I am currently spending my year out working
as an Analytical Chemist for xxxxx and I am
finding my interests towards a career using
Chemistry continually confirmed.
What have you been doing as an analytical
chemist? What techniques have you used? How
do they work? What sorts of molecules is this
technique appropriate for?
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What to include 1

• Interests, experiences and abilities related to
  your chosen course
• Draw up a list of things which motivate you to
  study the course
• School subjects
• Work experience, especially when relevant to
  your chosen course
• Extra reading in the wider area beyond the
  course syllabus
• Web-sites
• School/family trips or excursions

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What to include 2

• b) Extra-curricular activities
• Detail aspects of your significant
  extra-curricular activities especially with
  regard to
• Organisational ability
• Time-management
• Skills related to the course

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What to include 3

• c) Additional Qualifications
• Detail aspects of your significant
  extra-curricular activities especially with
  regard to
• Other skills/achievements e.g. Duke of
  Edinburgh, Black belt in Judo
• Studies beyond school classes
  National/International Olympiads, Cipher
  challenge
• Positions of Responsibility
• Attributes which make you different

History Applicants (middle sections) Outside
school, my interests in art and literature are a
helpful balance to my academic work. I have also
been a member of Circus Eruption, a group working
with able-bodied and disabled young people
through the medium of circus skills, for six
years.
After my GCSEs I stepped back from full-time
education for a year. I needed time to think
about where I was coming from and where I wanted
to go in the future. The sense of venturing into
territory alien to my Traveller culture induced
considerable anxiety. I learned to drive and
worked part-time. I look back on this period not
with regret, but with appreciation for the
maturity I gained.
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What to include 4

• d) Future Aspirations
• This may be very tentative at this stage.
• Some courses are vocational (Medicine,
  Veterinary Science, Law, Engineering) and
  potential career paths are easily identified.
• Some courses are more academic (History, English,
  Maths). Explain how you feel the qualification is
  going to help you along your chosen career path.
• Perhaps youre undecided. If so, focus on your
  enthusiasm for the subject youve chosen.

Although some would argue the study for an
English degree is not vocational I see the next
few years of my life as the opportunity to become
immersed in a subject I love. To develop my
potential as a writer, I need to analyse and
understand the work of those who inhabit library
shelves. This course offers me the chance to
explore the depths of Shakespeare, unravel the
mysteries of Byron and grow in confidence as a
literacy critic and person.
There are many things that I still want to do
and learn, and I see university as the best
opportunity to get involved more in drama and
music, try some debating and hopefully take up a
sport. Although having done relatively little so
far, I regard university as a place where I can
realise my potential in every aspect of life and
also have a lot of fun studying what I love.
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Dos and Donts

• Do
• a) Check University courses for their academic
  requirements
• - Are you realistically going to meet their
  entrance requirements?
• Are you studying the right subjects for their
  course?
• Do they have additional recommended
  criteria/qualities?
• - If so, do you have at least some of them?!
• b) Create a list of ideas which you might like to
  incorporate before you start
• - Academic background
• Wider reading beyond the syllabus
• (Relevant) Work Experience
• Extra-curricular activities especially showing
  responsibility, commitment, organisation.

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Dos and Donts

• Do
• c) Assume your first draft will not be perfect!
• Ask people you know and trust for critical and
  ideally constructive feedback parents are not
  always best as they might not like to hurt your
  feelings!
• Carefully check spelling, grammar and
  punctuation.
• d) Justify your course choice! Implement
• - Your subject interests
• Your wider academic experiences
• Work experience (positive and negative)
• Try and incorporate lots of enthusiasm for the
  course!

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Dos and Donts

• Do
• e) Underline and justify your personal qualities
  to undertake the course
• - Usually organisation, time-management,
  responsibility
• f) Outline future provisional post-degree
  plans
• Some courses are vocational (Medicine,
  Veterinary Science, Law, Engineering)
• Potential career paths are easily identified.
• Some courses are more academic (History, English,
  Maths).
• Explain how you feel the qualification is going
  to help you along your chosen career path.
• Perhaps youre undecided.
• If so, focus on your enthusiasm for the subject
  youve chosen

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Dos and Donts

• Dont
• a) Use over elaborate language to embellish your
  prose.
• b) Wander too much from the point of your
  argument
• - Review what you have written from time to time
• c) Lie
• Needless to say there are serious repercussions
  if you falsify examination results.
• Its all too easy to get caught out at an
  interview if you have lied or exaggerated about
  your experiences/achievements.
• d) Rely on a spell-checker!
• - In principal a spell-checker should pick up
  awl mistakes
• - Re-read your statement after several days and
  get someone else to read it too!

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Dos and Donts

• Dont
• e) Wait until the last minute
• Your statement will likely appear rushed
• Youll probably omit important arguments or
  factors supporting your application
• f) Try and write your statement whilst surfing or
  watching TV
• Give it your full attention
• g) Copy or use someone elses statement
• - UCAS has a sophisticated plagiarism checkersee
  later

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Size and Presentation

• 4,000 characters or 47 lines of text (whichever
  comes first)
• - You cannot use bold, italics, underline,
  various fonts etc
• - You do not have to use every last character of
  space
• - But you should use a lot of the space on offer!
• - You can use blank lines between paragraphs

Ensure your text appears well-presented and you
are making a coherent series of
statements. - Prepare your statement off-line in
Word, Notepad, Wordpad etc. - After it has been
read, re-read, proof-checked etc - Upload/copy-pa
ste onto the UCAS website once you are happy with
the content. - When you save your document, UCAS
will tell you if there are space characters left
or if youve used too many!
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Beyond UCAS

• Additional Information
• Some Universities may request further
  information from you in order to assess your
  ability for their course.
• If there is additional information which you
  feel relevant to your application but you did not
  wish to include in your UCAS statement, contact
  the University directly. They will often be happy
  to accept additional information, but ensure it
  can be clearly identified as your work (your name
  and UCAS ID number are helpful).
• In some cases you might be invited for an
  academic interview

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Plagiarism

• Similarity Detection
• All UCAS personal statements are subject to a
  similarity detection test.
• Copycatch software quantifies the similarity
  between statements and reports findings
• Copycatch compares your personal statement with
• - All previous and current statements on UCAS
• - Other personal statements which have been found
  on websites
• - Other sources including paper publications.

Do read other personal statements to see what is
required. Do not use other peoples personal
statements and a Thesaurus as a template. Do not
let other people use your personal statement as a
template.
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One approach to writing your UCAS personal
statement

• Decide on the type of course you are interested
  in which fits your interests and academic
  background
• Choose appropriate Universities which offer that
  course and where you are most likely to meet
  their academic requirements .
• Generate a list of activities in and out of
  school which interest you
• Spend time evaluating how you can implement your
  experiences, activities and interests to support
  your course decision link them to
  beginning/middle/end sections
• Find other personal statements for the
  same/similar courses assess them critically
  identify good and bad parts try and identify
  why they are good/bad so you can implement those
  techniques
• Prepare a first draft bearing in mind the
  following
• - Use your experiences in and out of school to
  justify your course choice(s)
• - Showing interest in your subject beyond the
  classroom is really important
• - Where possible tie in skills from
  extracurricular interests into skills required
  for higher education
• - If youre taking a gap year justify how it
  will strengthen your application.
• - Balance your personal statement between
  motivation and enthusiasm for your course and
  your extracurricular activities
• Ask someone you trust to read your statement and
  offer constructive advice/criticism.
• Revise your statement in light of their comments
  and re-circulate to others until you are content.

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Sources

• UCAS webpages
• Many personal statements are available on-line
  (all statements used here were in the public
  domain)