To put in a mum on my personal statement?

[Beesandhoneys]

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.

In what context?

No, I wouldn't.

I wouldn't either.

So don't mention it at all then?

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

I think best to leave it out

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Sorry, yes it's UCAS @JamieVardysHavingAParty

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.