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

[Beatrice123456]

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"

I'd send you a couple of examples from two very unflowery writing lads but it would be a completely different subject and so perhaps not that helpful.

If she feels silly writing it- or embarrassed by trying to big herself up without seeming like a braggy show off,
Sometimes it helps to write it, as a draft, trying to be as pretentious or braggy as possible. So all her real achievements but none of the pressure of it being real.
Then go through it after and rewrite it so she doesn't sound like a knob.

Its a easier fun way to do it and it helps you to get all of the true acheivements down on paper and a vaugue structure to then work from. Writing from a blank page is hard but neatening up work is easy.

Well, as someone who read MFL, it will surely help if she can mention visiting the countries where the language(s) is/are spoken, any friends there (in my day might have been penfriends), has she read any literature beyond A level set texts or watched films or TV from the country (even in translation or subtitled in English)? Does she follow the political situation in the countries? For History, she could mention which periods or figures she is most interested in (assuming the courses she is applying for have some focus on them).

Help her bullet point everything then expand on that. Its easy to become a bit blocked doing these things

No they don't

Some do

It sounds like she can't be bothered which doesn't bode well for the self directed nature of university!

My dd hasn’t even started her application, no panic. She still doesn’t know what she wants to do next. Finishing A levels in 7 months.

DDs Tutor was useless bit luckily I have a friend who is a tutor at the same college (different dept) so she helped DD. She said it’s a good idea to try and tell a story as to how you decided to study your chosen subject and almost create a timeline as to what led you to the point of your application.

Depends on the school or college she is at but places with more pupils will have asked for the UCAS application to be submitted to them by now. This is because when you submit it goes to the school or college and they add predicted grades and references and do last checks before final submission to UCAS. Larger schools need to make sure there is time to get all these done before the Jan deadline. Dd had to submit hers by 24th November. Have you had no information from the school about this?

Ds's very large college last year asked them to be submitted by the last day of term in December in order to guarantee references were done by the January deadline.

I don’t think your DD needs to use flowery language at all - in fact, I think it’s actively discouraged by admissions tutors and school staff who support students with their uni applications.

I definitely used flowery language in mine (as did everyone else I know 🤣), but I would advise against it. I would suggest to your DD that she keeps the sentences and general language very clear and simple.

A good starting point for your DD would be to do a mind map or just a massive brainstorm on a piece of paper (typed/written/whatever she prefers) all about why she wants to study her chosen subjects. A personal statement is literally just a written version of you telling uni admissions tutors why you want to study their subject.

My DS did his very last minute. No flowery language (but then he was going for a STEM degree). It was fine, and he didn't get help from me. I did proofread DD1's PS but that was more about typos - I come from the Dutch system where they don't do a PS.

It's really good of you to take the afternoon off work to try and help her work on this - the support you're offering her will hopefully allow her to think more clearly about the task in hand.
What I found useful when writing mine is to remember that the reader won't think "wow, how pretentious!", a personal statement is supposed to be a student selling themselves, explaining how good they are for "x, y, z" reasons.
Like others have suggested, find a basic template online with some generalised headings. Then brainstorm ideas for each heading with your DD, maybe in a mindmap. Once she has things to write about and understands the basic structure of what she will need to be writing about she should find it much easier.

Really appreciate the supportive replies. We're brain storming (on a whiteboard!) and it's clear DD knows what she wants to say so we're half way there!

It sounds like she can't be bothered which doesn't bode well for the self directed nature of university!

Don't be a muppet 😂

Hope it is going well

My DS was helped by his tutor (6th form college, state school with 4000 kids) all the Y13s got help, and internal deadlines for first draft. 2nd draft etc

I am surprised your DD college/school have not helped!

Could she ask her tutor to have a look?

@Clarinet1 gave some really good advice on the MFL side above (great user name I was a 1st clarinet many years ago....) For the history side I would suggest (I'll mention what I've been advising my DD as it sometimes helps to just see what someone else is doing)

mentioning what triggered her love of history if she can identify it (my DD has mentioned avidly following the discovery of Richard III as a 7 year old)

Saying what period of history she is most interested in and why (especially if it is not what is being studied at A level - for DD it is different so she has been explaining why she finds the Romans more interesting than the Crusades)

What reading she has done beyond her A level reading list and talk about any exhibitions she has been to/relevant volunteering or any MOOCs etc she has done (DD talked about the way in which the Nero exhibition at the British Museum put the emperor into context through a range of artefacts from different parts of the empire)

What she has learnt from her A levels about the techniques of studying history (DD focussed here on the Anglo Saxons as a period where there are few written sources and so the archaeology becomes important and then linking it back to Richard III)

Why she wants to combine history and a languauge - especially helpful if its because she wants to study eg French and is fascinated with the relationships between Henry VIII and Francois I and/or ELizabeth I and Catherine di Medici and MAry Queen of Scots or eg and can then talk about what she's read (perhaps something in the language). Languages can be really important for historians so it can be sold as a big positive if she can link her interests in the two.

It might also help if she did her first draft as a letter so she really feels she is writing to someone rather than just an impersonal statement. The main thing is to show that she has a love of history and has engaged with it outside of the classroom.

I knew @PhotoDad would be along with good advice! And thanks to @Dictionaryencyclopedia for the link, it will be useful next year.
My daughter is applying for art foundation so different but has just handed hers in to her school - one is limited to 300 words!! Before she realised how limited it had to be her first draft was 1800...
Your daughter must write it herself, though you should proofread it a few times. If she's thinking of History she must already write well! She just needs to start.
Our sixth form head said half of the unis read it, half don't, and some use it as a tie breaker.

Brill advice here from @Clarinet1! Another thing on the MFL side that might be helpful for your DD to mention on her personal statement is - can she make any links between the literature and films she has read and watched that relate to the languages she’s applying for?

Admissions tutors always like to see lots of references to examples and in-depth info (as much as this is possible in the 4000 characters you’re allowed for a PS!) so it’s best if your DD can support the points she makes in her PS with references to books/films she has read and watched for MFL and history.

At the end of the PS, it might be good for your DD to include a couple of lines on extra-curricular activities she’s done that relate to MFL and history - e.g. is she part of any clubs/groups inside or out of school that focus on MFL and history? Has she entered any competitions related to MFL or history?

can she make any links between the literature and films she has read and watched that relate to the languages she’s applying for?

Yes! That's something emphasised on the UCAS video @Dictionaryencyclopedia linked to. They want evidence and they like books or films that you have read/watched behind the curriculum and your reflections on them.

Some great advice - thanks so much you lot.

I don’t know anyone whose mum has written theirs?!? If they are good enough to apply to University they are good enough to write 4000 characters. There’s tons of stuff on UCAS and her school will have given guidance and will read it through.

Ds submitted his application last Friday as he wanted it out of the way before Christmas. He was able to give rough drafts of his personal statement to his tutor to look over. Is there a teacher that could guide her with writing it? She still has plenty of time to do it so don't panic.

My niece has been twatting about with hers for weeks. I looked at the 1st draft (I am VERY experienced with these) and advised some alterations. Her dick of a 6th form tutor gave appalling feedback, so I advised show it to Head of 6th, who agreed 100% with me. "Get it sent off!" I said. A month later, she still hasn't.

Yeah - have been cajoling and nagging but ds won't get on with it

Humanities lecturer here. What I want to read in a UCAS statement is evidence of deep interest in, and commitment to, the subject. I don’t want to read any pretentious waffle. Get her to emphasise the range of historical subjects she is interested in and to evidence this - what has she read, beyond the A level board text?That’s what we’ll be looking for. I’d suggest that she steers clear of saying that she watches TV programmes/documentaries or reads historical fiction, but field trips would be relevant.
She could add something about an interest in primary sources- with some examples: documentary sources, visual images, surviving historical sites/artefacts.
Staff will also be looking for clear written expression so she needs to keep an eye on her sentence structure.

In response to a Pp, I most certainly did not write my DS’s - and I’ve read thousands of them over my career.

Ds has submitted his and had feedback (too long but good)

I’m leaving him to it as the school are better placed than me to comment