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Higher education

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

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Original poster

Personal statement question

91 replies

sashagabadon · 18/10/2020 09:24

Dd has more or less finished it - 4680 characters so a bit of editing required as it should be 4000 ( is that right?)
She has written two main sections. Why she wants to study the subject she is applying for and secondly her personal achievements / work experience / why she’d be a good student etc.
My question is what goes first in the PS?
I think her personal stuff first, followed by why she likes the subject but DD thinks the opposite.
Who’s right?

OP posts:

Needmoresleep · 18/10/2020 18:11

No need for MN to put together a list. DC should carefully read the University and course websites.

This, for example is what Warwick have to say:

Our courses are very competitive, with often many more applicants predicted to meet the entry requirements than we are able to offer places to. Where this occurs, the personal statement is important to enable us to select potential students for the course. It is considered very carefully by our staff, and is especially important to us when we are making decisions about who to make offers to.

You should spend some time working on your personal statement before you apply. This is your chance to show why you want to study your chosen course at Warwick, and why you would be a good participant on the course.

warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/personal-statement

DC only got 2 offers apiece, despite very strong predictions. But they did get places they wanted. The ratio of applicants to places was 17:1 and 12:1 respectively and PSs had a major role in filtering applications. (And filtering DC out in the case of some of their applications.)

Advice will be on the websites. Universities want to pick the strongest applicants, including those who may not get the advice they need from their schools.

SeasonFinale · 19/10/2020 18:48

@CraftyGin

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a Mumsnet list of universities that a) read personal statements, b) don’t read personal statements, c) get petulant about personal statements?

Obvs students have to pay a lot of attention to their personal statements because there is a chance that one of their five will actually bother to read them.

To be fair if the applicant reads the admissions criteria for the unis they are applying for it tells them if the personal statement is considered from the outset or just in tiebreak situations. Eg. Bristol - History - offers made based scores graded on best 8 gcses/A level predictions. If there is a tiebreak then the personal statement is considered. Manchester - Economics - personal statement is read and considered. It doesn't take that much effort to find this info.

Guymere · 19/10/2020 20:34

I do wonder why some posters always say the PS is never read when that’s clearly untrue. I agree. It doesn’t take much searching for the info.

SueEllenMishke · 19/10/2020 20:51

@Guymere

I do wonder why some posters always say the PS is never read when that’s clearly untrue. I agree. It doesn’t take much searching for the info.

Ah but it gives people another reason to slag off academics and universities!

On a serious note, it does vary between university and even between courses at the same institution so it's so hard to generalise.
Universities have to be transparent about the application process so the information is there and should form part of the applicants research.

Serin · 20/10/2020 23:29

3 DC
15 unis applied to and 15 offers made.
Talk with real enthusiasm about the course, hopefully they will have attended the uni level summer schools that are usually available (precovid) so they can discuss what was gained from them.
Hobbies should be just the last couple of paragraphs but if you can hit them with a stunner in the last few lines (eg I sing with the National youth choir/ play rugby for Wales) then so much the better.
School wanted each of our DC to change their statements and make them blander (all 3 were quite amusing and this is generally considered risky) however one Durham professor actually sent a note stating how refreshing he found DS's PS. Aberystwyth did the same with DD and offerred her a scholarship.
I think it's called "personal" for a reason, it should focus on the student, not a generic photofit.

Guymere · 21/10/2020 09:08

Very few dc can attend uni summer schools. Such a mc thing to do and poor people can rarely afford this. Although schools do taster days at uni.

Being from a better off family should not give an advantage and I would have thought just churning info back to the academic institution that gave it out wasn’t the best PS. It says very little about what the student has done for themselves. It says what was paid for by their parents. In some respects, not a great PS. I do accept MN parents pay for these activities but I’m not sure they should be valued more than dc who have had to work things out for themselves.

Everyone must read what’s on the web site. That also goes for whether the PS forms part of the selection process or not.

SueEllenMishke · 21/10/2020 09:14

Talk with real enthusiasm about the course, hopefully they will have attended the uni level summer schools that are usually available (precovid) so they can discuss what was gained from them.

Not all universities offer summer schools.
Some are targeted specifically at underrepresented groups do not available for all.
Some cost and are unattainable for many
Some students actively avoid attending because they're scared/worried they won't fit in.

decoraters · 21/10/2020 09:21

Talk with real enthusiasm about the course, hopefully they will have attended the uni level summer schools that are usually available (precovid) so they can discuss what was gained from them.

How can anyone have attended a uni level summer school pre covid? Uni applicants are, in the main, 17 now so would have been 16, possibly even 15 last summer! Surely universities have altered their expectations?

I'm worried for DS, who isn't even going to school let alone extras but is working on his personal statement now, with very little to add to it.

SueEllenMishke · 21/10/2020 09:25

Universities do not expect students to have attended summer schools. Firstly, not all universities offer them and those that do have very limited places. It's just not possible for all applicants to have attended one.

Guymere · 21/10/2020 10:16

Can we help, decoraters? What subject is he intending to study? Why did he decide on this subject? What motivated him? Any books he’s read for ideas? What about any interests that tie in with the subject?

Cliff1975 · 21/10/2020 10:24

Schools are pretty rubbish at this, my son wsn't in the Oxbridge group as he wasn't thought to be of Oxbridge potential. He is now at Cambridge and his personal statement was ace.

Original poster

sashagabadon · 21/10/2020 10:56

I have another quick question that me and my daughter are disagreeing on. She is insisting flowery language is best whereas I think plain English is better so for example, she has written something like “we are living in an interconnected Global world where trade between nations is far beyond the barriers of physical Geography” whereas I think that sentence should be more like “nations can now trade easily with each other as physical geography is no longer the barrier it used to be”
Just an example - maybe both sentences are bad

OP posts:

LIZS · 21/10/2020 11:05

I'm not sure either fits into a ps! Personally I'd go with a straightforward natural style. What it needs to address is why this subject appeals and what relevant experience and skills the student has.

Original poster

sashagabadon · 21/10/2020 11:13

Thanks Liz, she has mostly done that quite well I think but has the Occasional flowery statement in there too. I think I need to persuade her to cut them out completely

OP posts:

SueEllenMishke · 21/10/2020 11:15

She should try to avoid being too flowery... it should sound like she's written it.
I once read a statement that said 'I consider myself to be chronologically co-ordinated' when I asked them to explain it she said she was organised!

Original poster

sashagabadon · 21/10/2020 11:20

The problem is the flowery stuff is coming from her as she thinks my sentences are too basic and simple! I think the school is encouraging the flowery stuff so she just thinks I am wrong ( which I could be but you have all really helped)

OP posts:

decoraters · 21/10/2020 12:53

@Guymere

Thank you. I have literally passed your comments to him to give him something to think about. Sometimes all you need is a few things to think about!

This is such a horrible time for our younger generation, not exclusively of course, but all the same I think they need to be recognised.

DS wants to do computing science. He is autistic and has had no work experience, he didn't go to any clubs and now he isn't even at school!! He is working his way through free online courses and doing an individual project relevant to computing as well but that's as far as we have got. Jobs are few and far between, the autism and the virus just lower his chances so we are trying to focus on the positive things he can do from home.

MarchingFrogs · 21/10/2020 12:58

The general advice from the leader of the technical writing course we were all sent on at work really boiled down to, When in doubt, more Anglo-Saxon, less Latin.

LIZS · 21/10/2020 13:27

@sashagabadon, ask her to read it out loud, even record it, and listen as to whether it feels like "her".

CraftyGin · 21/10/2020 14:06

Decorators,

Please don’t be down on your son. He is helping himself by doing online courses. Autism is not always a negative thing, and he may become a brilliant programmer.

There is a national shortage of computer scientists, so your son should not have any problem finding a job,

decoraters · 21/10/2020 14:10

@CraftyGin

Decorators,

Please don’t be down on your son. He is helping himself by doing online courses. Autism is not always a negative thing, and he may become a brilliant programmer.

There is a national shortage of computer scientists, so your son should not have any problem finding a job,

I don't know where you get the impression I am down on my son from but that is absolutely not the case.

decoraters · 21/10/2020 14:12

@CraftyGin

He actually wants to teach the subject at high school level. You have never seen autism as a negative thing, I am autistic myself. It does however add to the struggle of finding a part time job during covid restrictions.

decoraters · 21/10/2020 14:12

I have never seen autism as negative

CraftyGin · 21/10/2020 14:14

I guess I didn’t get a sense of positivity:

DS wants to do computing science. He is autistic and has had no work experience, he didn't go to any clubs and now he isn't even at school!! He is working his way through free online courses and doing an individual project relevant to computing as well but that's as far as we have got. Jobs are few and far between, the autism and the virus just lower his chances so we are trying to focus on the positive things he can do from home.

decoraters · 21/10/2020 14:15

Was it where I said 'he isn't even at school' that sounded like I was being negative? I really didn't intend it as so I was just presenting the facts from a 'what to write on a PS' point of view. My own feelings were not reflected there.

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