Personal Statement / UCAS / 2 subject choices..

[VioletPickles]

Personal Statement - UCAS.. currently embarking on this absolute minefield and trying help my daughter write her PS. Obvs we’ve googled and read all about it, but she has a rather unusual set of circumstances and we are wondering if anyone has any knowledge of the process, or can point us in the right direction..

She wants to do veterinary medicine at Edinburgh Uni, this is her first choice with 3 bio medical science degrees as her very close second choice. She wants to be in Edinburgh as it’s closest to home and we can’t afford accommodation after 1st yr, plus she has 2 part time jobs locally which she loved.

The personal statement obviously has to be very focused on your subject choice, ie why you want to study it etc, but what if there’s two choices? Might it look like a lack of commitment to her first choice? Can anyone help at all?

I’ve never met anyone only applying for one vet course.Usually , as it’s a burning ambition, vets are desperate to get anywhere. They have slim chances anyway so most don’t narrow it down to one university.

She will surely get a maintenance loan like everyone else, so I would not take this route. I think you can apply for 4 vet courses and one other. She needs to think about what she really wants. It doesn’t look like vet Sci. Also living at home can really cut you off with the long hours and early starts involved. Most vets end up living together. So I do think you should not encourage her to be at home.

As a result, I would rethink and go all out on the PS for vet Sci. If she doesn’t, they might well be confused about what she really wants. I’m assuming they give clear guidance on what they look for in a PS. I would follow it to the letter. The other courses won’t bother so much. The PS is her chance to sell herself for an ultra competitive course.

Yes for Vet Med it would be very foolish to try to cover 2 different subject areas in one personal statement and is not recommended.

Edinburgh doesn't prejudice vet med applications having a 5th non vet alternative (says so on their admissions page) so no need to say much on PS about this course. However don't waste slots on more than one non-vet med course at Edinburgh as you will get max of 1 offer (again on website).

In the past Glasgow used to interview for vet med before Edinburgh so I'd apply for Glasgow too as DDs friends found it good interview practise. DDs friends were so set on vet med that they were willing to consider reapplying. One was wait listed for both Glasgow and Edinburgh but got none. Worked full time as farm hand (free accommodation) for 15 months and got 3 vet med offers 2nd time around (1 Scottish and 2 English).

There are ways around accommodation costs. DD does a halls job which gives her a 75% rebate on accommodation costs (including food) in return for 3 weeks full time work pre-term and a couple of hours per week in the evening in term time. Glasgow/Edinburgh known to be generous with bursaries to facilitate widening participation so she might be eligible for something.

Just applying for two in Scotland limits someone who has a supposed passion to be a vet. Apply for 4.The money is always available one way or another!

Thats interesting - I couldnt see that about only one offer on the website, where (roughly) was it?

Shes decided to apply to Glasgow too