No extra curricular activities for personal statement

[MrsAlwaysRight]

DD got some feedback on her personal statement draft from teachers, they've said she needs to include what she does in her free time.

She doesn't have much free time as she's doing 4 A levels plus has a part time retail job and tutors Maths. She's written about the tutoring already. She doesn't do any sports or activities. Is this going to have any real impact on her applications?

My view is the universities she's hoping to apply for (Oxford, Warwick, Bristol, Bath and Exeter) are probably more interested in academic achievements but am I wrong?

Thanks in advance for any advice

I belive oxford wants to know more about your passion for the subject rather than the extra curriculars

State that she plays badminton and hikes. No one will ever check.

😂😂

They are interested in super curriculars.

So for example let's say she does maths.

Has she done any maths challenges?
Read any maths books - Simon Singh, Matt Parker or similar?

Follows you tube maths channels - 3blue 1 brown and maybe does some of the challenges and problems?

Are there any bits of maths where she has got interested and taken it further herself? Eg written a computer program to work out probabilities or read into the history of mathematics - Pythagoras, Euclid, Euler etc?

Has she also written about her part time job? If not I’d recommend that and then just more about passion for the subject. Maybe she does some online learning courses or the like in her free time about the subjects she likes?

Ime a lot teachers know fuck all about writing a good personal statement. Ignore them - you're right. Subject related stuff is much more important.

A PT job is valuable. You can discuss the transferrable skills you have got from it.

Why does she need to do 4 A Levels?

This. However including the tutoring and her retail job shows that she's managing these on top of her 4 a-levels. Do not disregard the retail job. It shows maturity and ability to juggle more than just school. That said, in reality she should probably dedicate no more than one or two sentences in her statement to this. ( Disclaimer, I am not a teacher or admissions tutor - but mum of a recent Oxbridge grad. My DC wrote exactly one sentence about extracurriculars - but made sure it was a punchy one)

Yeh what everyone else says. She needs to focus her PS on things about her chosen subject (I presume maths) and what she has done in that area. Oxford doesn;t care if she plays the flute or has done DofE. They do care that she has done maths challenges, attended online lectures, read books - and what she learned, why it was important to her, that kind of thing.

Also agree pt job is worth a mention - not just "I do this" but I have learned xyz (timekeeping, resilience, management of tasks)

I think the fact she has a job and also tutors is brilliant..I would definitely mention these things I think

You are mainly correct, OP.

The part time retail job is also worth a very quick mention, as your DD shows good time management enabling her to handle this workload.

Oxford in particular would probably like some mention of super-curriculars: independent work and show of enthusiasm for her subject. It is helpful at all of the places you’ve mentioned.

(I am a former Russell Gp admissions tutor)

Well, quite.
They really aren’t that important.

Thanks very much for the replies and advice.

She is quite proactive searching out extra learning opportunities. She's done an online Maths course over the holidays and has entered a couple of essay competitions over the last few years. She's mentioned the course but not the competitions I think.

She hasn't mentioned the retail job so I'll suggest she includes a brief mention about the skills and experience she's gained from that.

Surely it's pretty common for sixth form students who have a part time job not to do particular activities on top of that and studying? Certainly the case for I'd say 90% of DD's sixth form (spare time was spent in general socialising).

DD certainly didn't include any extra curricular in her personal statement. She mentioned her job and supra-curricular, though.

You are right, the personal statement should focus on the academics and the super curricula stuff. Nobody cares if you play piano to grade 5 and did the DofE. They care about the extea reading, podcasts, site visits, MOOCs etc etc.

what subject is she applying to do at uni?

She's applying for Economics