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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Personal statements - nothing to write

87 replies

Claybury · 26/02/2015 13:08

DS has abondonned all hobbies and extra curricular over his teens in order on 'focus on studying '. Well this is his view, I think he wanted to free up weekends for partying, recovering and a bit of homework.
As a result I'm wondering what on earth someone puts in their personal statement who has literally no hobbies. Gave up his instrument in year 11, did not want to do any field trips for biology ( had chance of overseas one ) , refuses to do voluntary or paid work, does no sport, refuses to participate in school clubs.

Is this unusual?

OP posts:
WaitingForMe · 26/02/2015 13:12

I did a fair bit but what helped my application was writing about the books I was reading and what I thought about them. Volunteering at a festival relating to chosen subject (there are loads of literary, science and other festivals) is often just a weekend but shows interest.

Lancelottie · 26/02/2015 13:21

He writes about why his chosen course interests him and why. What he will bring to it. Perhaps what his current thoughts are about possible career after his degree.

Then at the bottom he mentions that he 'enjoys music especially at parties and played the marimba/ukulele/drums to grade 4', because frankly the person reading doesn't care unless he's a music student.

jeanne16 · 26/02/2015 13:22

Try to get him to go to lectures at universities on subjects related to what he wants to study. All the unis offer these so go online to I find them. Then he can refer to these in his personal statement to show just how interested he is in the course. Try to get him to also read a couple of books on the subject so he can refer to these as well.

WhatAHooHa · 26/02/2015 13:23

I didn't really do very much, I think I wrote about my passion for my subject, what I loved about it, what I wanted to do with it in the future. Basically, I'm going to work hard and not drop out.

SecretSquirrels · 26/02/2015 13:50

Ah claybury I have two of those.
Neither DS has any interests unless you can call on your expertise in on line gaming.
DS1 always wanted to go to Cambridge to do Maths. Advice was that extra curricular didn't matter it was all about grades and the subject. It was always his hobby as well so that suited him fine. He was so immersed and driven in his subject that his PS was entirely about Maths. He put nothing personal in it at all. He got five offers from top unis including Cambridge (though he didn't go there in the end as he missed his STEP grade).

DS2 has never been sporty or musical and never stuck at anything "extra-curricular" Now in y12 and doesn't even know which subject he wants to do so can hardly write passionately about it. He is predicted As in his AS so it's not about the school work or grades. I suspect he will have to be very, ahem, creative on his PS.
Someone on another thread suggested futurelearn and I have suggested he might try a couple of their courses.

Mindgone · 27/02/2015 11:09

He could talk about past hobbies and interests as if they are current.

Littleham · 27/02/2015 11:59

He could take an EPQ and write about it in the Personal Statement. That will fill up a nice long paragraph. This thread explains what the EPQ is all about -

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=602573

senua · 27/02/2015 12:32

Has he done any work experience?
If all else fails, I'd go for mindgone's strategy.

MillyMollyMama · 27/02/2015 13:04

If he cannot show any significant interest in his subject, he should not be applying, quite frankly. If he has done nothing to support his application then he will come across as a bit vacant. If he won't do a field trip, is he really going to make a success of university? I guess some university will take him but I would get him to do a gap year, earn some money, get out into the world and grow up!

SecretSquirrels · 27/02/2015 13:38

MillyMollyMama I think that's a bit harsh. It would be lovely if everyone knew at 16 what career path they wanted to follow or what subject to study. A lucky few are passionate about their subject and the great majority go with what they are best at.
I am always sceptical about how much notice admissions take of violin grades and DofE compared with actual impressive exam results.

DS is now starting a project of reading around his two best subjects to give him some more insight and something to write about. It's a start.

uilen · 27/02/2015 13:46

Lots of students drift into studying at university going with the subjects they are best at. It often doesn't work out for them - drop out rates in the first year can be up to 10% even at top universities, with other students failing, having to repeat years, switch courses, mostly because they are not really interested in what they are studying.

Universities would prefer not to take students who seem to be drifting into studying but most courses can't afford to turn away well-qualified students.

So if a student can't write a couple of paragraphs describing why they want to study the subject, I think it is not unreasonable to question why they are applying at all.

AndThenISaid · 27/02/2015 13:46

I am assuming he is Yr 12.
My DS was the same last year.He can't really write a PS til he knows what he wants to study.teh main thing to write about is why you are interested in the subject and your thoughts about it.
I think the Ps is becoming less and less used because they know it is often not the students own voice- there are companies out there who will write the damn thing for you.
Where they interview I suppose it can form the basis of discussion but most Unis don't interview, I suppose partly to save money and partly because when different people are interviewing different candidates it is hard to make a fair comparison (that is what Durham said anyway)

Original poster
Claybury · 27/02/2015 14:02

To those who think if he is not passionate about a subject, what would you advise he does instead of university ? A gap year isn't necessarily the best thing for someone who needs structure and if you are studying sciences I think it can be best not to get out of the study habit as it's hard to get it back after a year out.
It may be the case that a degree course in all its broadness sparks an interest and if someone doesn't know what to do but is capable of studying science / maths at degree level then a degree course can surely be a great thing to do while you mature and find out what does interest you.
I don't think all undergraduates are truly passionate about their subjects. You are lucky if you are at 17.

OP posts:
senua · 27/02/2015 14:03

Did I misread the OP? I thought she said that DS had no hobbies, not that DS had no interest in his subject.Confused

AndThenISaid · 27/02/2015 14:04

Claybury I agree very few 17 year olds are.

senua · 27/02/2015 14:11

Has he thought as far as a career yet? Working back from that helped DS decide which degree to go for.
What is he like - hands on, wants office-based, team/solo, money-motivated, etc? Working out want he wants from a job/career might help define things.

yearofthegoat · 27/02/2015 14:14

DD2 is academic but not into music or sport and hasn't done DofE. She will be writing about the TED talks and documentaries that have interested her and what she has enjoyed from the A level syllabus and what she is interested in from the university syllabus.

yearofthegoat · 27/02/2015 14:18

A broad course with lots of options in the first year might suit DS, then he can try out subjects and work out which ones he likes. The US college courses are like this (you specialise much later) and I think some UK ones are, but I don't know which ones.

Invizicat · 27/02/2015 14:25

We're a year ahead of you and this was ds last year. Not a CLUE what he wanted to do. (He dabbled with just about every possible faculty in every uni!). Everyone told me he would get his act together and decide by application time and lo and behold he finally did after a very very wild summer of fun . It's amazing how peer pressure works to good effect when all your mates are deciding where to go and what to do. 18 year olds don't always listen to mum but they certainly listen to their mates when it comes to what to do with their future.

DS missed the school's UCAS (made up) deadline with his dithering but ended up handing in a decent application for a sensible set of courses for which he's had offers.

And the PS statement? All about the subject. DS had done quite a lot of extra curricular 'stuff' to put in if he wanted but due to PS word limit he cut nearly all of the sporty /musicy /leadershippy stuff out, except for one sentence about a job he'd done showing other skills.

BTW, you often hear that unis don't even read the statements but 4 out of 5 of ds's course choices held interviews and he was asked specifically about things he'd mentioned in his statement in every interview. BUT the aspects they asked him about were all subject related, not about his non academic stuff.

Now he just has to get the grades...

Hassled · 27/02/2015 14:34

This is really reassuring - I've been having the same fretfulness about DS2 who is very academic and driven but whose only other interests appear to be playing Civilisation online and haranguing me about politics.

Original poster
Claybury · 27/02/2015 15:53

Invizicat - that sounds exactly like my DS. I am relying on his peer group sorting him out. And I'm sure he's plannig a wild and lazy summer, with no enriching activities unless you count getting stoned at various festivals

What I find frustrating, and this is just his personality, is that he seems to have tunnel vision in that whilst he works averagely hard, he cannot multi task - he told me yesterday he wouldn't have time to go the gym until after his exams in May! He also won't go to any extra curricular stuff laid on by school even if it's subject related.
Thanks for all the replies, v helpful.

OP posts:
AndThenISaid · 27/02/2015 17:25

Also i have heard they look closely at the ps if you don't get the grades.

lastlines · 27/02/2015 18:59

Agree that the main focus of the PS should be on why they want to study that subject/course and what interest they can show in it outside A level syllabus. Wider reading, TED talks etc all good. Extra curricular stuff is an add on. True engagement with their subject is what will really make a difference.

thecalicocat · 27/02/2015 19:26

My DS2 was the same! Didn't do Duke of Edinburgh, play in county sports teams etc as majority of his counterparts were doing. Just wrote about what he enjoyed about the subject he was applying for (English). Padded it out a bit with interest in football (!!). To our amazement got 5 offers from Russell Group universites and is currently in first year at a 'top' university....

Molio · 27/02/2015 21:33

This thread is a great antidote to the usual dictats on MN about what's required to get offers. Nice to have an injection of reality. Lots of bright kids can't be arsed to do stuff just to tick boxes and good for them.

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