Personal Statements

[whateveryousay]

Am I the only person drafting their child's personal statement?

Please tell me I'm not alone.

Goodbye, in my experience, ie friends dc, dcs mates and the kids i teach, no it is very unusual to go on your own.

Oh dear Rosie. Oh well, DS got three places so it did him no harm. My experience is different though, I guess it differs according to type of school/ circle.

I was going to agree with Bubbles actually and say how do the interviewers know but Imperial did ask a related question, as in 'How did you get here?' to which DS said he walked from Waterloo across St James's Park and Green Park and then Hyde Park/ Kensington Gardens after his three hour journey in from home. Perhaps the question is a determinant after all! You need to spread the word if those kids you know aren't all cleaning up places!

Lots of short term autumn jobs to be had, including fruit picking (even more after Brexit) and working in vineyards. Also a fair number of students would probably have the funds to volunteer and travel There could be an extension of the NCS.
The system is n't broke but neither is it working well,; poorly predicted grades, panics over remarks, expensive in terms of university staff time and finally students who come to university without the maturity to be independent learners, even those at the top universities.

Personally, I would quite welcome a post results admissions process.

My DC who both left school this Summer are having a ball, and we would be in a position to help them secure interesting stuff to do and pay for it.

But other young people I know aren't in that position. Their parents can't afford to keep them after September ( when benefits are removed) let along until January, and they live in areas of high unemployment so work isn't really attainable beyond a bit of zero hours contract stuff.

The students need to write it themselves. The clue is in the PERSONAL bit.

Is it a weird feeling writing about yourself, yes.
But isn't that exactly what you have to do on every job application, covering letter, request for work experience etc, yes.

If you do it for him then it's just pushing the issue further down. He still has to learn to do it.

Generally speaking here, I do wonder if all this push for SATS, tutors from 8, pressure for endless gcse intervention and tutoring etc leaves some kids under the impression that an adult will always swoop in and rescue them on anything remotely challenging. Friends who teach in uni say that the first years are increasingly needy and lack independence.

GetaHairCarl those students and their parents would be in a similar position during the post A level summer and university holidays, the maintenance loan without additional employment does n't cover living expenses for the full year. The autumn term is under 3 months.

If I had my way, there would be optional autumn term foundation study skill courses offered by universities (perhaps locally) and that extra term of finance would be covered by the tax payer for students from areas of deprivation. If students from these areas did not apply for university and could not find a job they would be claiming benefit support anyway.

Also don't assume the statement is what will get most students get in. It is still mostly your grades that count. My child with the better personal statement got his A*AA offer and his twin (personal statement more run of the mill) AAB (same university different subject). Pick your subject with care.

One of mine has just left for his first Deliveroo (meal delivery ) shift on his bike. Let us see how he gets on before recommending that as a source of income for school leavers before university....

Mind you when he said couldn't everyone do that job I had to point out not everyone is rich enough to own or have access to a bike. They take some things for granted at this age.

4 children down, I've never had anything to do with their personal statements. The clue is in the word, "personal".

Same as Bizzy - only 2 been to university so far but I have absolutely no idea what they wrote. I believe dd1 quoted Legally Blonde. Both got 5 RG offers, probably because they wrote (whatever) about what matters to them.
GIVE YOUR CHILDREN SPACE!