Personal statement dilemma

[JamieandRoybromance]

What do you do when you want to apply for a course which is only taught in one university? Therefore, your other 4 choices have to be in a different subject to the first choice. My DS has been told by his head of year that admissions will look unfavourably at his statement as they'll think he isn't truly invested in a subject area, but what else can he do? He can't just apply for one degree course. The two subject areas he is interested in are vaguely linked and he's tried to stress this in his statement. But his heart really lies in the BSc which is unique to one uni, so he wants to stress his passion in the statement without alienating the second interest in computer science. Any suggestions on what to do for the best would be appreciated.

Thank you for your detailed reply @BrideToBe2313123

He's just looking at generic computer science courses at Aston and BCU. They both seem to cover the same areas. I am really starting to worry that by doing a more niche degree he is pigeon holeing himself. I might suggest he just focuses on computer science, but uses the year placement in industry as his opportunity to work in network rail or the bus companies.

I'd make it slightly more generic about a career in logistics utilising his computing/maths skills - talk about his skill set more?

Sounds like he would get in though.

It's a great course, I went to Aston and know people who did that course 20 years ago who are doing really well. If you want to bump up the Aston points further talk about wanting work experience and strong industry links (am assuming it still has a placement).

Could he edit it so that the statement makes it clear he wants a career in transport management? He could then discuss his passions for transport and make links to developing his computer science skills as part of his career ambitions.

Thank you @TedWilson You have helped ease my concerns a little about the course.

Yes, my dd did something similar, it was 4 years ago, so please check. She applied for two courses which were a real stretch, got rejected by December. In January she phoned three other unis, spoke to admissions tutors says she’d had a complete change of heart and that her ps didn’t fit any more. No worries they just asked her to apply and to add a covering ps by email.Three offers followed.
I know you definitely don’t have to fill all five spaces on your ucas form in in one go. School may not like it, but ucas is technically separate

Well, look at it this way.
Many graduate jobs take any degree - so if he does transport planning he will be fine.
Doing computer science merely gives him the additional option of applying for STEM/Computer Science only jobs.

But Computer Science is a slog and very difficult if you don't like or are not suited to it. It looks like both those universities have normal CS modules with no extra 'soft' module options.

If he does not mind either way it's better for him to do CS then a transport planning MSc. As the majority of people do the latter - is his BSc transport planning going to set him apart, compared to others who have an undergraduate in something else (giving them a wider perspective) + a MSc?

But if he's got his heart set on transport planning. Then he should give it a go. He's not going to end up without a job either way.

@Russoooooo Yes that's what he's done but his head of year is being quite negative about his statement, saying it will put off lots of admissions tutors. I think it's a great statement, really balancing the two areas but I'm biased!!

Thank you @BrideToBe2313123 You are talking complete sense! I will chat with him about these options. Thank you xx

I am taking everyone's advice on board, we will have a really serious think and try to get his application in early so that we can have options. Thanks everyone xx

My DD has the same issue and has been given same advice. But both are medical related. 1st choice is radiography, 2nd is Midwife/paed nursing..... Its a selective course so 2nd choice is her back up plan but has been told not too.

It's just a nightmare for those who aren't going down a traditional route eg English Lit or Law.

My friend’s DS works on planning train routes and timetables for Network Rail. Degree in maths from Cambridge.

Not sure where DS can commute to. DH is a civil engineer who has worked a lot on road and traffic design and resolving road planning issues for housebuilders. This degree would not lead to that but if you look at employers, they are mostly logistics companies and employment is good. It doesn’t lead to Chartered Engineer or other qualification but does seem to be a means to an end in terms of employment. I could see that a business or management degree gives more employment options. If he likes CS, what four courses and Unis is he looking at?

My son is also autistic with a special interest in all things transport. He wants a role related to transport but has also been adamant he didn’t want to do anything engineering related even though he is very good at maths. He is planning to do a degree in History (his favourite subject) with a view getting on a general management graduate scheme for a rail company or possibly the Department of Transport. He will also be applying to a couple of degree apprenticeships and I am not sure if he will want to go to university at all if he gets one - we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.

The Aston course looks really good - particularly given the geographical restrictions your son has. His predicted grades are above the entry level so he has a good chance of getting in. I would be tempted to only add that as an option, make the application as strong as possible and hope for an early offer.

Yes that is correct. aindeed maybe out the transport and one CS down initially and see what comes back. If the CS rejects him he can ask for feedback why. But yes once submitted if less than 5 you can add others after through track.

@JamieandRoybromance Placements at uni might be competitive. You cannot guarantee a rail placement. He might get it but you cannot go in assuming he will. So he might need to be flexible. Network Rail is one employer. They do have great grad training schemes and apprenticeships . Has he considered these?

I would look at the NR grad schemes and look at what they entail. Then work back to a suitable degree. The Aston one has 91% grad employment so very good.

Many posters seem to think unis take huge account of a PS. Many do not. I would try and find out from Aston what they do. They don’t appear to give advice on what they want to see. They don’t say how they are evaluated. That makes it difficult but I’m not sure it’s worth writing two PSs. It’s unlikely the uni is going to throw out a BBB student when they ask for much lower and say talk to them if you are not predicted that! It’s not competitive and I really doubt the ps is a deal breaker for this course. They don’t even care what A levels you study!

We've decided to tweak his personal statement to emphasise a love for both, but with a much heavier emphasis on CS. I'm sure the transport degree dept are well aware that it is quite niche, will expect to see statements that cover more than one interest and I really can't see it being oversubscribed. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't get an offer from transport, but we need offers from computer science too so that he has options later on.

Thank you everyone for your advice and for going above and beyond to help us. You're all amazing xx

@JamieandRoybromance Thats a very good plan. I would expect an offer from Aston too!

Great news for anyone invested in our dilemma!! We emailed Aston and they have said they are very happy to accept a separate personal statement purely for Transport, as long as we email it with his ucas ID. So it looks like we will be writing two separate statements, one for transport and one for CS. I'm so relieved!!! Thanks all xx

Well done@JamieandRoybromance
Its such a shame schools don’t give out this information.

I guess the best bet is to talk about his passion for/interest in transport management as a career (first choice will surely then understand this is the ideal course for him), and then talk about how he might use computer science to underpin a career in the transport sector.
It sounds as if he's reasonably secure for the entry requirements for his first choice, so presumably the universities he might use an insurance offer will be looking for even lower grades, and might be more interested in his abilities than where his passion lies - the personal statement might not matter too much.

It really is best to completely avoid the word “passion”. Find alternative ways to express an interest in something.

Great news! All the best to your son.

I think Birmingham do a 'railway engineering course' if that would be of interest

@TizerorFizz that advice is mentioned in every single thing my DD has seen/read about writing a PS that we now involuntarily cringe if we ever see that word in a sample statement. The thesaurus got a good workout when she wrote hers.

@mondaytosunday Yes. I’ve no idea why people trot it out. DDs were told to use language that doesn’t make the reader cringe!

I used the word 'passion' in my post, but obviously he hasn't used it in his personal statement. It was just my way of getting across that he is intensely interested in railways!!