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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if anyone's DC hasn't done their personal statement

67 replies

Beatrice123456 · 05/12/2022 10:31

For UCAS

DD had an uncharacteristic meltdown this morning. She hasn't done her PS and is in a panic as apparently everyone else has done theirs!

She's always on top of things so it never even occurred to me to ask 🙁

She says she "just can't do it"

OP posts:
Original poster
Beatrice123456 · 05/12/2022 12:07

Only mine? 😯

OP posts:
SavoirFlair · 05/12/2022 12:07

What are you looking for from this thread @Beatrice123456 ?

Onnabugeisha · 05/12/2022 12:08

She probably has writers block. Perhaps see if she is willing to brainstorm ideas with you, or if she has a school advisor or form tutor she can approach for help?

AnchorWHAT · 05/12/2022 12:14

Can you find a template or an example one online tohelp get her started, its hard to know where to start but once she does things will flow and it wont be as hard as she thinks its going to be.

somethinglikethat · 05/12/2022 12:15

It's fine OP. What is she applying for and where?

Sceptre86 · 05/12/2022 12:31

Her school should have done some work on this be it just looking at a random template to get ideas of basic layout. Mine was a long time ago but I remember the opening paragraph was roughly why I wanted to study the course, second and third were more about how the a-levels I was doing at the time were useful to the course I wanted to study and I detailed the extracurriculars I was doing and linked them back to the course I wanted to study. This was easy enough because I wanted to be a hcp so could link it to organising my own workload, keeping calm under pressure , team work and working independently etc. I also mentioned my hobbies to give them an idea of me as a person, shows how well rounded you are and that you have interests beyond study are capable of coping with pressure. I know medicine and dentistry applications have to be in January and oxbridge applications used to be earlier too.

I didn't have any help from my parents with it, they wouldn't have known where to start but college did a basic intro on it and emphasised the need to link what you are doing now to what you hope to study, profession you want to go into. Much easier I think if your course has a job at the end like dentistry bit harder if you want to study the classics for example.

Sceptre86 · 05/12/2022 12:34
  • I think maybe the applications for medicine and dentistry were October when I was applying for uni but that was a long time ago!
Original poster
Beatrice123456 · 05/12/2022 12:45

History and MFL. Mainly RG unis.

I've taken the afternoon off work to try and help her kick-start it. Looking at examples online they seem a tad pretentious (for want of a better word). DD says "I can't write like that!"

I didn't go to uni so this is unchartered territory for me.

OP posts:
Original poster
Beatrice123456 · 05/12/2022 12:47

@Sceptre86 - that's how I'd expect to approach it but the language on the examples is really quite flowery.

OP posts:
CharityShopChic · 05/12/2022 12:47

Mine hasn't. She is still not 100% sure about which courses to apply for. And finds it very difficult to say that she is good at things.

PhotoDad · 05/12/2022 12:48

www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/writing-personal-statement/introducing-personal-statement-tool

This breaks it down with prompts. No need for the flowery language!

Lonelyscrooge · 05/12/2022 12:52

Think of it as a cover letter for a job. What appeals about the course, what career aspirations she has that it can support, what she does extra curricular to show she's a rounded individual and not just academically focused.

Dixiechickonhols · 05/12/2022 12:52

School or college should have provided help. Has she got info links you can look at or a teacher to contact.
Selling yourself doesn’t come easily for some people.
I’d brainstorm with her and get something on paper and sees her tutor with it.

Outfor150 · 05/12/2022 12:52

Mine did it at the last moment a couple of years ago. We have no idea what she wrote. She only applied the day before the deadline. We as parents didn’t even know she’d applied, as she’d said she didn’t want to go to university at all. She’s at an RG university.

PauliString · 05/12/2022 12:59

Well, why does she want to do history and MFL?

If she can tell you out loud, you could make notes, and she could make them flow better later. It doesn't have to be pretentious, but for essay subjects it probably should be at least literate.

If she has no idea, could it be that she's looking at the wrong subjects?

NotSorry · 05/12/2022 13:03

When mine did theirs, I said "just write" it doesn't matter if it seems like gobbledygook to start with - then I helped them knock into shape for the first draft which then had to go into school for the teacher to give feedback and support on. Could she start there?

waterrat · 05/12/2022 13:03

Ask her questions and make notes. she does need tp be able to answer questions about why she wants to do the course..think of what makes her unique as an individual and help her reflect that.

Comefromaway · 05/12/2022 13:06

Ds got absolutely no help from his college and neither did his friend. Luckily for us a friend of mine was an UCAS advisor and she helped.

I would say flowery language is not needed.

What course is she applying for. Get her to write out a list of bullet points.

Reasons why she wants to study this subject.
What does she enjoy about it the most.
If studies at A level/Btec what parts of the course interest her the most
What has she done outside of the school curriculum AND what has she learnt from it (wide reading, MOOCS, podcasts, relevant work experience etc)
What other experiences (if any) has she got that links into the subject/ability to study at degree level.

ScreamInBlue · 05/12/2022 13:09

Looking at examples online they seem a tad pretentious (for want of a better word). DD says "I can't write like that!"

Ha, my Ds said the same but that's how they all seem to be. If it's not cringe she's not doing it right 😆

Dictionaryencyclopedia · 05/12/2022 13:14

Hi OP, my DD was just the same.

Her college sent us a link to this guide by UCAS and I found it really helpful when helping DD with her personal statement:

If you watch that all the way through, you'll have a really good sense of how to structure it and what to say.

Best of luck. I feel your pain!

OneInEight · 05/12/2022 13:19

ds2 is agonizing over his. He has really low self-esteem and hates talking about himself so is finding it very, very difficult. It is likely to be the shortest personal statement ever.

Tickledtrout · 05/12/2022 13:22

PhotoDad · 05/12/2022 12:48

If she logs into her UCAS account there's a ps builder type tool. Tells you what to include in each paragraph.
Good luck

Original poster
Beatrice123456 · 05/12/2022 13:25

Thanks for replies and links.

Apparently everyone else's mum has done theirs for them 🙄 😃

Do the admissions tutors actually read the bloody things?

OP posts:
Original poster
Beatrice123456 · 05/12/2022 13:27

It is likely to be the shortest personal statement ever

I was wondering if it has to be 4000 characters!

Sorry your DS has low self esteem and good luck with the applications.

OP posts:
Comefromaway · 05/12/2022 13:28

Some do, some don't.