How on earth do you write a personal statement?

[MOIST]

DD1 has just announced she simple can't do it. Having read her offering I am inclined to agree. But I have no idea how it should be written.

Is there an idiots guide somewhere? (I've looked at the UCAS guide)

She could try The Student Room.

They say "most people find starting their statement to be the most difficult," so your dd is not alone.

Bullet points rather than words, to get you started: 'Maths fiend. Rowing (teamwork). Work experience. Keen musician...' Put it in proper sentences later.

we're working on it.

My daughter did that to start with. Just listed everything! Then put it into groups of things which would make paragraphs. Then write the paragraphs. She was at that point this weekend.

DD1 was told by school to split it into 2/3 why you want to study that particular course (and things that you have done extra curricular wise to show your commitment to the subject) and then 1/3 hobbies/interests/skills. Does this help ? She got lots of help and guidance from school - do they have a personal tutor who might be able to help them get started ?

Had interesting advice from one admissions tutor, they want it to be individual to the applicant, "quirky but not wacky". It may not therefore be what you or I would write after years of writing applications etc. At my DDs school when they come in with PS clearly polished and worked on by parents, or even worse people you pay to do the polishing, they put them back into the candidates words, which may look a bit raw and naïve to you and me but is the voice of a 17 year old. Anyway the one my DD submitted was definitely "quirky" and she has an RG offer......

Put as much effort into the first paragraph as possible. Make sure it stands out and grabs attention because first impressions (sentences) really do count.
It is hideously hard to do though

Lots of schools keep samples of past ones. You cannot copy but it gives an idea on how to express interest in the subject, personal attributes etc. I think a bit of personality needs to come through too. Absolutely no spelling or glaring grammatical errors either. My DD was told about 2/3 on why you want to do the course and suitability for it and the rest on the student as a person, eg leadership roles, hobbies, sport, music, work, volunteering etc.

What is she applying for? She's more than welcome to mine to see the structure if she wants. Although I already had a degree and was working when I did the application to this course.

Guide here www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Writing_Your_Personal_Statement

Examples here (DO NOT copy else you'll be caught by their plagiarism software) www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Category:Personal_Statements_by_Subject

FAQs www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Personal_Statement_FAQs

Free, secure PS review service (but you'll only get one review, so she needs to get it as good as possible before submitting it). They won't write it for you, but they will be able to give some pointers to improve it. Do be aware that there can tend to be backlogs, so if she submits it too close to the deadline she may not get a review. www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Personal_Statement_Help