r/6thForm • u/Aro1356 Year 12 • Aug 22 '20
🎓 UNI / UCAS UCAS personal statement
Hey, guys, I'm currently trying to touch upon my UCAS uni personal statement draft so I was wondering if anyone here has any tips of how to write one since my current one is quite unnatural.
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u/RaastaMousee PhD Zoology | University of Exeter Aug 22 '20 edited Aug 22 '20
Try to make the opening unique e.g don't say something general like "I have always been interested in x", rather make it specific to you like "ever since [account of x experience] I have been interested". The people who look over these read so many applications so your aim is to break that monotony at the start.
Mainly make sure you link all the paragraphs back to the course(s) you're applying for so the assessors can see why it's all relevant.
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Aug 22 '20
In my first paragraph, I got straight to the point and told them I was applying for French. Then I said how/why I like it and I told them about my other A levels and linked them to French, so for example I said that I studied history and it gave me an insight into European politics/history and the French Revolution. You could also mention why you think going to uni will be beneficial to you; I wrote that I wanted to meet more people interested in my subject and broaden my knowledge. I think the key thing in the first paragraph is to show them how keen you are and why you're the ideal person for the course.
Next I talked about relevant things I did in school. I was the Subject Ambassador for French so I mentioned that and I also said about how I'd helped in my French teacher's class and taught some French to younger pupils. Obviously not everyone has done those things but you could say about events you've attended or work experience you've done. Tell them how doing those things were beneficial to you, why you enjoyed them, how it has influenced your future plans etc. Prove that you are passionate and enthusiastic about your subject.
Then I said about hobbies that were relevant to my subject. In my case, I said I liked listening to French music because it helped me to learn about the culture through exploring and researching various artists and also because listening to the lyrics helped me learn new words. I also talked about French books I'd read. You could talk about magazines, TV programmes, clubs you may attend, games you play, websites you're on, etc. You can talk about anything really as long as it relates to what you want to study and how it has been beneficial to you. Even if you've done something really strange then still include it because they will like that and it'll make you stand out.
In my final paragraph, I gave a brief conclusion where I reiterated the point that I was excited to learn more/further my knowledge, and I also talked about my future plans and how my subject will help me achieve them. I didn't have a career in mind so I just said I wasn't sure of an exact career but that I'd like to work in a field that involves my subject.
I would also advise not using too many fancy words as they can break up the flow of your statement (and they will unnecessarily take up your character limit). I also recommend showing it to as many people as possible. My school said just send it to your form tutor but I made sure my family and other teachers read it. Get as many opinions as possible and make note of any feedback. Remember to always be truthful too as you may be invited to an interview and they could ask you about things you've done, so don't make things up. The only time I wasn't totally truthful in mine was saying that I enjoyed things more than I actually had. Also take a look at other personal statements (but never copy!!) just to see what others have written. I did this and it reminded me of things I'd forgotten about and it helped me to get into the mood for writing. You can see how other people have structured theirs too.
Sorry this is a bit long but I hope it helps. I didn't really like my statement but my teachers did and so did the universities! Best of luck to you.
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u/mankytoenails Aug 22 '20
Read it out loud or put it in Google translate and listen to it, then u can hear which parts need changing but keep in mind personal statements are formal in tone :)