Is it good to put the awards to the personal statement?

[User11010866]

DS is currently working on his personal statement, and I'm wondering whether it's advisable to include awards like the BMO medal or Computing Challenge medal in the personal statement

I'm not sure what a BMO medal is, but the advice generally is to put "through doing my Computer challenge medal, I learned to........." or "I discovered a love for ......." type sentence. So, you elbow it in there, but make it relevant to the course or the subject you are applying for, where you can.

To some extent, it depends on the word count, as it can be tight, but, if they have managed to get predicted grades needed for the course whilst also doing extra curricular stuff to a high standard, then that has to be a plus point, for those admissions departments that read the personal statements.

I think BMO medals are def worth mentioning. I don't know about the other one you mention, but in general the PS is absolutely the place for this kind of thing.

Yes. Link it to what was learned and why he wants to study the subject.

If he is short on space you can also ask school to mention it in their reference maybe? I’m sure one of my ds had school do this. Especially if it’s unusual for the school - so putting he is first pupil / one of only a small number of their pupils to get the award stands out even more.

Thank you all for the advice. I feel that including awards in the personal statement can be a bit of awkward, and simply discussing attendance at activities doesn't quite cut it. In the UK application, unlike the US system, there are no dedicated sections for activities and honour lists. As a result, it is quite challenging to effectively highlight these types of achievements.

If they're relevant to the degree put them in (it's quite easy - not sure why you think it's challenging?), if not relevant, only add if needed as a filler.

Attendance doesn’t say much. What you learned from attendance at something does. An award doesn’t usually involve having parents who pay for expensive courses/events. He could easily say how he prepped for the comp. Did he have to overcome any knowledge gaps? If you go in for a comp you usually have to do something extra or learn something from the experience. You just need a bit of imagination.

BMO=British Maths Olympiad, I presume. Definitely. Although one’s Bronze DoE award is not particularly impressive. As PPs have stated, context is all. (Former Russell Group admissions tutor)

I read on TSR about an applicant who had a very strong academic record last year(including 2 distinctions in BMO1, 1 merit in BMO2, top gold in BPhO, and gold in the UK Chem Olympiad), but still did not get to interview stage for Trinity math. I don't know how these were reflected in his PS and why this happened. Trinity AO said they don't care PS.

We can’t know what was going on there, OP. The awards you mention aren’t medals so they probably didn’t mean much but I would not think they counted against the candidate.

Oxbridge recognise that some deep thinkers are not natural Maths Olympians. BMO is hardly a necessity for a successful application. DH was very much not into that side of things and is a Cambridge alum with a Distinction at Part III, although he turned down the offer of a funded PhD studentship there to go elsewhere.

Not all schools put pupils in for it do they? Is this the same as UKMT?

If it's ignored by places like Trinity, this will be why. A fairer playing field for pupils at schools who don't enter these things.

As the elite unis test anyway, I assume the results of the tests mean more as every applicant takes them.

The previous poster does have a point that not all applicants are able to enter Olympiads; DS's school didn't enter students for the Physics Olympiad, despite him asking twice. He found a different competition which he was able to enter independently (and came in the top 50, which showed that his request was justified).

I think that BMO success is worth mentioning on the PS, but in my opinion it's more useful to put it in the context of what they learned in terms of skills and development, rather than just listing achievements.

I would get school to mention in reference. Especially if short on space.

About six years ago the fellow responsible for shortlisting for maths at Trinity told me that they’re only impressed if you’ve come first in a national Olympiad. Not to say that without this accolade you won’t get an interview, as not all schools « do » Olympiads.

Anyway, I wonder whether this guy was slightly laboring the point. He was responding to my query about a student who had done very well in a regional Olympiad (and with sky-high predictions) but who hadn’t got an interview.

Trinity especially have way too many ridiculously talented candidates. They take the very best then flood the pool.

Say it (about medals) in context of what it meant to him and how he worked to achieve it.

Most school references are horrible, formulaic, often repeat the PS.
We assume the PS is highly shaped by adults, but at least they end up sounding original.

The only time a school ref is good (says something engaging and useful in addition to the PS) is when it's written by a teacher who actually taught the individual (but most aren't written by teachers who personally know the candidate). That's sheer luck for the pupil if it happens. School Refs shouldn't be part of admissions process at all, imho.

-Have read a lot of PS & school refs for Med school interviews

As others have said it's probably not a good idea to write the statement purely for Trinity. They might not be impressed by whatever your child has achieved but it won't count against them either, and other unis will be interested. A friend of my son's got into Trinity for maths - my son says his friend is good, definitely an able mathmo who deserves a place at a competitive uni, but not a total maths savant. No point in trying to second guess what trinity wants, other than people who are very, very good!

Thank you all for the response. My son did write he enjoys math problem-solving and UKMT events in his draft statement but did not mention any of his medals in the Olympiad in the draft. What I don't know is if it is advisable to tell in the PS.

OP, I just read more carefully about the unsuccessful Trinity candidate you cite. They medalled nationally in Physics and Chemistry but not in Maths. That won’t have helped them.

A lot of the leading universities only care about your academic grades and your love of the subject. So mentioning them would be fine but it is much better to say what you learnt from them or how taking part made you realise something or led you to start studying something outside of the school curriculum that is related to the subject you are applying for.

There are no sections for honours lists as many state schools and colleges in the UK don't have such things and it would be unfair to those who attend that kind of school or college.

Fair enough. DS has earned his very first JMO medal at the state primary.

The Cambridge open day video () indicates that the Personal Statement (PS) is not a crucial factor for mathematics admission, and this viewpoint was reinforced during my conversation with the Trinity Admissions Officer (AO). I believe that the school reference letter may be a significant determinant in whether an interview opportunity is granted.

When I went to the Cambridge Maths Dept open day in April they said they don't really care about personal statements and they interview 75-80% of the candidates, give offers to about 30% and then only half of those achieve their offers and get in (because STEP is so hard.) STEP is what they care about.

I've just realised that Cambridge asks applicants to fill out the SAQ form as well. So, there's no need to mention any BMO/BIO awards in the personal statement at all.

The supplementary personal statement section of the SAQ is there because some courses are very Cambridge-specific. DS applied to four Physics courses and Natural Sciences at Cambridge. His main personal statement had to be solely about Physics, then he used that section of the SAQ to demonstrate and evidence his interest in interdisciplinary physical sciences.

I imagine it could be used in a similar way for an application for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic etc.

I think BMO could go in the main personal statement, but in the context of skills developed.

Anything with is relevant to the course he wants to study. Nothing else.unless it can be linked back to the subject.