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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To put in a mum on my personal statement?

116 replies

Beesandhoneys · 31/12/2019 19:54

Have 2 kids and I'll be a 'mature student'. I want to apply for nursing and I thought that me putting that I'm a mother could actually benefit my application but I don't want to look silly. Would it help or should I leave it off? TIA.

OP posts:
redexpat · 31/12/2019 19:57

In what context?

FluffyEarMuffs · 31/12/2019 19:58

No, I wouldn't.

ludothedog · 31/12/2019 20:00

I wouldn't either.

Original poster
Beesandhoneys · 31/12/2019 20:00

So don't mention it at all then?

OP posts:
GlummyMcGlummerson · 31/12/2019 20:02

It's not relevant - unless you have had caring duties of some sort (other than common or garden mothering)

Ffsnosexallowed · 31/12/2019 20:02

Why would you?? To be brutally honest being a mum isn't a particular skill.

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 31/12/2019 20:02

I wouldn’t do it in the hope it will add something to your application. But if you have gaps in your cv that are down to taking a career break to raise your children then include that explanation.

Iliketeaagain · 31/12/2019 20:03

I don't think "being a mother" in itself would stand out, but there would be no reason to say something like, now your children are a bit older you feel able to make a step to become a nurse or similar if you wanted to mention why you are a mature student.

Original poster
Beesandhoneys · 31/12/2019 20:03

I know @Ffsnosexallowed , someone said to me it'd help because you 'care' for them when they're sick etc.

OP posts:
PooWillyBumBum · 31/12/2019 20:03

It depends on the context I think, and whether it supports the general message you're trying to convey. I became a mum as a teenager and I did mention it, I suppose in an attempt to show grit and determination (I sat my A levels a few weeks post partum). The tutor from U of Bath sent me an email - which I still have, despite choosing another Uni - saying it was the best personal statement they'd received out of 500+ for the course and offered me a place right at the beginning of the interview!

If it's just to show you're a mature student, I believe they'll know that from your application anyway, and I'm not sure what it adds.

Fidgety31 · 31/12/2019 20:03

If you need to fill gaps on your cv then surely mentioning that you have been having time out to be a parent is better than just leaving it as a gap

redexpat · 31/12/2019 20:03

Is it relevant? Are you becoming a nurse because your kids got great care from nurses and you want to pass that on to other families then yes I would say relevant.

I would be good at this because I have kids - not true or relevant.

Sparklesocks · 31/12/2019 20:03

I think best to leave it out

Inde95 · 31/12/2019 20:03

I did and I was accepted for my degree (humanities though)

Jingers5 · 31/12/2019 20:04

Any mature nursing students that l know are put on work placements where they have to do alot of nights/unsuitable hours- it's possible that whoever looks at personal statement might view it as a negative. I personally would not add it. Best of luck to you with it though.

Nicknacky · 31/12/2019 20:05

There is a massive difference from looking after your own kids when the are ill and nursing so no, I wouldn’t mention it.

I cook their dinner but that doesn’t make me a chef.

JamieVardysHavingAParty · 31/12/2019 20:05

As part of the essay about how passionate and great you will be for your UCAS personal statement, I take it?

I think you should have gone into more detail in your OP. Think everyone else is thinking of CVs.

PurpleDaisies · 31/12/2019 20:05

It’s quite insulting to suggest that mums are better at caring than non mums.

Original poster
Beesandhoneys · 31/12/2019 20:06

Sorry, yes it's UCAS @JamieVardysHavingAParty

OP posts:
Original poster
Beesandhoneys · 31/12/2019 20:07

I didn't mean that at all @PurpleDaisies , I'm sorry if it came across as that!

OP posts:
JamieVardysHavingAParty · 31/12/2019 20:08

Then whether it would make your essay stronger or weaker depends entirely on how you say it, and what you're relating it to.

titchy · 31/12/2019 20:08

Leave it off. Do you have any voluntary (or paid) caring roles? That's what they're looking for. Experience of caring within a regulated environment. Of people unrelated to you.

LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood · 31/12/2019 20:10

It might possibly (at a stretch) be relevant if you are applying specifically to do paediatric nursing. But even then I think it’s a bit of a stretch.

When DD1 was hospitalised for several weeks 2 years ago our ‘favourite’ nurses happened to be childless (we got to know a lot of them really well and they were all absolutely splendid, but the ones she had the most rapport with were the younger childless ones as it happened).

Being a mother is life affirming and rewarding and hugely important. But, of itself, I don’t really think it is a ‘skill’ that is attractive in the workplace.

HigherFurtherFasterBaby · 31/12/2019 20:12

I mentioned it in the final paragraph of my personal statement when I was applying to Universities for Biochemistry, I got offers from 4/5 and 3 of the 4 were RG Unis.

It was 3 years ago now but was basically some waffle like “As a single mother of three children doing the Access course, I have learnt multiple new skills. My time management is exemplary, I am able to meet deadlines whilst facing other external stressorsI can take in information from multiple sources at the same time**”

  • I stay up till 3am with a baby in the sling to work

** Norovirus during exam season

* My kids never shut up

That’s not verbatim but it’s similar.

Rachelfromfriends1 · 31/12/2019 20:14

Depends on the context of the situation but it might come across as a reach.

I think you could write an amazing personal statement without mentioning that you’re a mum at all.

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