Truthful university applications

[alreadytaken]

Wondered what you, or your child, would have said if entirely honest?

www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/25/truthful-university-applications-our-favourites-so-far

My DS would have been
"I know I can earn more if I have a degree so I suppose I should go to university. I'm applyimg for this subject because I find it mildly diverting and I get the best marks in it. I don't read anything if it's not required for homework and hope that my chosen institution has super fast internet so I can feed my social media addiction"

I don't think it should be too short. Even my friend's ludicrously gifted Maths genius has to write sentences now he is in a job! He also has been reminded he has to speak to people - performance management objective! It took a year to get said job after graduating too. Better to start earlier and not go through Cambridge in a bubble of being feted as a maths genius and not engaging with the outside world! Straightforward and easy to read yes - being able to say something of interest about yourself and what you want to study - also yes.

super fast internet so I can feed my social media addiction

My ds probably considers 'where's xbox' to be a complete sentence Hocus.

Littleham

Here's hoping your dd who went though the whole thing the same time as Ds is doing well. I bet she is. And good luck to your DS.

She is very happy & getting good marks. I think a teaching career awaits as she is volunteering in a school (arranged through university). She looks forward to that morning all week which is a good sign. Also enjoying exploring such a beautiful place.

How is your ds? Hope it has all worked out well.

(ds won't be applying for four years. It is dd3 next. I shall still be on here for years like the Ghost of Christmas Past!)

My own PS 30+ years ago would have read "my boyfriend/love of my life is studying this subject and that's why I want to study it too, so we can talk about it together into our old age". Lol, I did study the subject, we broke up in my first year

Here in Yorkshire, "where's XBox" is a complete sentence! You just need a tiny glottal stop. :)

DN's will read "Although I haven't actually bothered to get any work experience in a veterinary practice, I have read all the James Herriot books, so please can I come and train to be a vet with you?"

'I can't take living at home any longer and your institution is a three hour train ride away and involves three trains which is great. Further to this, the year abroad in east asia will mean my mum really won't be able to visit. I'll work hard just for that opportunity'.

That would've been mine.

I've got one from today!

"I want to study Arts and Sciences at UCL because I'm only 16 - I was accelerated by a year when I was quite little - and am clever but quite immature and can't decide what I want to study so would rather carry on doing a bit of everything like at school."

Bobo is that an actual PS? If it is it's very sad. There was a boy in my year at school who had been accelerated and I always wondered what his university would've been like. It must be quite isolating I think.

Not an actual PS but the actual reason. I hope she'll take a gap year and reapply.

I think mine should have read: I'm clearly not clever enough to do what I really want, yet it seems "I'd be wasted" on my second choice. So as I'm expected to go I'll do whatever you'll offer. I know you have lots of the opposite sex there, so don't worry too much about me, I fully intend to make use of the opportunities that present themselves.

Ds's read
" I have a deep interest bla broad knowledge bla relevant work experence bla and have wanted to study bla since the age of 3. "

It meant
" I only chose this course today because if i don't get my form sent off I've missed the deadline. The subject I've chosen seems the least worst option. I chose my uni based on which bands are playing there. And my mum totally rewrote my statement because my punctuation and grammar is shocking. "

DS gained an offer from his first choice and has happily completed his first term there, having seen many many good bands.

Any one has a good recommendation for agency which can help with G5 universities application? Thanks.

Any one has a good recommendation for agency which can help with G5 universities application? Thanks.

I'd never heard of the 'G5' ... no, you don't need an agency or special help, you just need an applicant with excellent ability and a genuine interest in their subject. Which may or may not be enough because there will be many applicants per place.

DS1's PS would have been something like this:

I have no idea what I want to do as a career. I find History interesting and it was the only A-level I even vaguely enjoyed. I can write a good essay.

He only started drafting his personal statement the evening before the internal school deadline but (thanks to the essay-writing skills) was able to put together something articulate and cohesive in less than an hour. Which in itself is possibly a good predictor of ability to cope with undergraduate study in an essay-based subject.

DS2 has only just started drafting his, but it might as well say:

I am good at Physics and quite good at Maths (insert evidence here). I spend most of my time reading about Physics and solving Physics problems for fun, and I would still be doing this even if I wasn't being asked to demonstrate my interest in the subject. But let's face it, you'll mostly be looking at my GCSE grades and A-level predictions, and it's quite possible that no one will actually read this unless they're looking for an ice-breaker question to put me at my ease at the start of an interview.

DS's would have read "I want to come to your particular uni because I want to go climbing mountains and go surfing on the same day, become an army reservist, chill out on the beach, sail, mountain bike and do that daft zip wire thing.
Now, what subject shall I study?

I've worked in admissions for 18 years. The most memorable, for all the wrong reasons, was in the format of a printed book called "Chelsea's* Self-Agrandising Dictionary".

It was a dictionary where every word was used in relation to the applicant. E.g.
Ambition - Chelsea's greatest ambition is to study X at University Y
Dedication - Chelsea has shown great dedication to her studies
Joke - Chelsea hopes the admissions staff appreciate her joke

They weren't even definitions. Just using each word in a sentence and mentioning herself.

*Not real name, obviously

PMSL about the eighteen year old girl with the dark, withering, satirical PS. She sounds utterly insufferable.

Mine would have probably read "my mum says I have to go to this university as it's posh and local - and I picked something to fill 3 years in with"

Can't remember what I put for this current UCAS application but should have just put "look, I'm a mature student, desperate to do this course and I'll work my bloody arse off (see my 18 year old personal statement for details of what I won't do)"