Following on from my last post about admissions tutors, I was wondering if anyone had any advice for writing a personal statement as a mature student? I am not taking an access course or anything, as I have A levels, but I took them 8 years ago, so I don't really have anything like that to talk about. I am applying for Psychology courses, as I am very interested in going into Clinical Psychology, or possibly Drama Therapy, although at present my interest lies more in the clinical route. I'm just unsure as to what to cover - when I was at 6th Form it was much easier! My interest initially developed as a result of personal experience of seeing a psychologist etc - should I disclose that sort of thing, or will a mental health history send them running? I also have a limited work history for the same reason. This is a genuine interest - not just a navel gazing exercise, and I have read various books and developed my knowledge/interest etc, but I don't know to what extent I can talk about personal experience, if it all, and if not what I can write about. Reference is also an issue as I don't have a recent academic reference - I could provide numerous character references, but that doesn't really help does it? Is this going to be a hopeless battle given the above information, or do I stand a chance of getting into a good university? Help of any form would be much appreciated!