PS for a lad with no support.

[Serin]

I have been asked for help in preparing a personal statement by a lovely kid that I met in a voluntary role.
He has been dealt a terrible hand of cards so far in life and although his predicted grades are decent his PS is difficult to write.
He hasn't done any summer courses, has no work experience, no evidence of any long term commitment to anything.
He has never been away from home, not even for a school trip or a holiday.
No extra curricular activities at all.
Where does he/we start? I guess he could just talk about loving his subject? and what it would mean to him to go to university?
He wants to do computer games design. I know nothing about this but would have thought something like straight computer science would be a better bet?
He has 12 GCSEs, (3 are grade 6, all the rest are 7 and above).
A Level prediction ABB. In maths, physics and Comp science.
His parents dont see the point in uni at all and have told him he can only apply to the local one so that he can live at home and pay them rent.
His college provide some help with PS but it's an online "builder" and he doesn't seem to have any bricks.

Does he live near any software companies (not necessarily just gaming ones?) DS is interested in data science and over the summer he emailed a few to ask if he could go in for a day to work shadow. A couple came back to offer a day to him- he took one up on their offer and had a great day, seeing what the working environment was actually like and it gave him something extra to add to his PS.

I find it so sad that kids aren’t supported in sixth form with this stuff. ( Not having a go at sixth forms, they’re struggling with cuts.) But the social capital that some families have just widens the gap so terribly when it comes to knowing how to get all the extra opportunities.
Even approaching a workplace asking for an experience takes an understanding of how that happens, who to speak to etc.

Herocomplex you're exactly right on this.

If you have no luck getting a placement or shadowing independently, it may be worth asking the university if there are any companies that they have a relationship with that he could approach. Some of my former students have done this although in a completely different field (biomed start-up ).

I also agree, Herocomplex. You do need to know how to find opportunities and also where you are can make it much easier or more difficult. If work shadowing is a possibility, this is what DS did- he looked online to see who was currently recruiting data scientists in our area. This gave him specific names and email addresses. He then emailed them individually to say that he saw they were currently recruiting, that he was in school so obviously not applying for a job, but is interested in studying this at uni/would like to have a day or half day (or even a chat over coffee!) to see what the day to day job is actually like, and then told them a bit about himself. I think this approach worked quite well instead of just saying, I’m interested in X, can I come in for a day to work shadow?

This obviously only works if you are close enough geographically to possible employers and can get to/from them for a day!

It is sad Herocomplex, in my opinion this kid has worked so much harder than most to get his grades which are all the more impressive given his home life.

You’re raising his expectations, so it’s going to help him. Just having one adult who believes in you and shows you that there are other routes can be all it takes. He’s clearly resilient.

Future Learn run short courses. They are often free to join
Perhaps one might be good for him to gain a little knowledge
www.futurelearn.com/search?q=Computer+games

Any chance of encouraging him towards computer science as being a broader course at this stage?

I wouldn’t dissuade him away from gaming, it’s an incredible industry with massive opportunities at the moment. Microsoft employ gamers in their new store in Oxford Circus to play with customers, imagine being paid to game (and sell obviously)!

The course he has chosen seems to have "bcs" status even though it is called computer games design, as it is still mainly computer science and seems quite heavy on programming.
I talked to him today, he seems quite realistic that he may well end up "just" working in tech rather than games design but he wants to try.
I'm impressed. There have been several shootings within a mile of his home this week and a 21year old was stabbed to death there at Xmas.
My own kids have tons of support, a great school and yet they have similar grades.
Yes, he has resilience in spades.

If a chance of going away becomes available then Aberdeen would be worth a look, very well regarded for games design. But I do understand the limitations.

Could he volunteer in primary school if they run a coding club or similar? He could do a few sessions between now and UCAS deadline and say he’s planning to do it.
Are there any organisations he could do a few days work experience at either on days his timetable is light or half term week. Do you have any computer games shops or tech repair places nearby?
I second future learn.
I also agree he should say he’s the first one from his family to apply to uni.
Could he look for a job to help pay his way in uni if his parents aren’t going to support him.

I think Abertay is well known for game design, rather than Aberdeen.

Another 'well done' for supporting this lad. DS is also at uni in a similar area, so PM if you want.

Are you sure he hasn't done anything in the gaming community but doesn't realise he could include it e.g.

• my DS was active as a volunteer for an online esports community organisation and used to help them design graphics for their website and social media feeds. Others volunteered as game 'casters' for events. His friend managed the twitter feed.

They had an active community of a platform called Discord where they collaborated in organising this.

When DS did his personal statement we helped him craft this into examples of 'design' and 'teamworking' skills.

What about Sutton Trust courses? First in family helps get on them.

Shooting and stabbings etc do happen in many neighbourhoods London. Even my DDs who live in nice flats in nice roads get murders nearby (adjacent road). That’s life at this moment in time unfortunately. Drug related normally.

What sort of sixth form is he at? Do they run enrichment activities? Is there anything else that he is interested in that he could do as an extra activity? While extra-curricular activities aren't that relevant, I would have thought that anything that makes you stand out a bit on a PS would be good. Even volunteering at a local parkrun every Saturday for a few weeks, if he can get to one. In fact, are there any local organisations looking for help with social media or similar? I had an email from a local conservation type organisation yesterday and while they were looking for the usual outdoor volunteers, they were also looking for people to help with social media, PR etc. Not gaming but sort of related and shows an interest in computing in the wider world.

His parents sound really unhelpful and I'd firmly advise him to go away to uni.

Thank you everyone, he has tested games before release! So that's something and he has contacted the local community centre to offer to help with the youth club.
The sixth form is 16 miles away and 3 bus journeys, he gets a free bus pass and it's a credit to him that he gets up really early to get there every morning. It's in a nice bit of town and I think he is invisible there.
Doesn't socialise much at all.
Yes, useless addicted parents.
We have made a decent start with the PS though and when I put his predicted grades into the ucas calculator for his course it estimated over 90% offer rate.
Feeling happier for him.

If his parents are against him going then he will struggle as they have to fill.in their income for him to get max loan.

Well done op.

Testing games has nothing to do with game design or programming unfortunately, definitely look at free courses like those on the ou, they've put some of their old programming modules on there for free which would definitely benefit him, I think (check I may be wrong) that he can get a certificate of completion for a small fee.

redhelen that's my worry for him too. He won't get the maximum loan anyway living at home as they deduct from the loan when students do that (students aren't expected to pay rent to live in the family home).

That's student loans though isn't it? Maybe he could get a bank career development loan instead - do they still exist?

He won't get any one to give him extra to pay rent to his parents. It's simply not a recognised expenditure. If he is going to live with them his income will be much less than other students and if his parents insist on him paying rent he could studying a major struggle due to various things he may need to purchase for his course. So he'll need to look at a job - and quite a lot of hours. He won't get any help from uni because it won't be recognised by them as necessary.

It's a horrible situation I saw more than once. More common than you'd think parents refusing their contribution and/or expecting DC to live at home and study and expecting rent paid from loan.

CDL don't operate anymore as far as I'm aware.

My DD put in her PS what sparked her initial interest in the course, ie for her it was something she came across while doing school work experience in a totally different field. He could mention something he's learnt or read that. Depending on what he wants to do, he could possibly still get some experience in the area he's interested in. It dawned on my DD this would be useful while preparing her PS, she got a day's experience - didn't have to mention it was only a day but could talk about it.

If he know what he wants to do in the future, he can show he has future aims.