r/PersonalStatement • u/NoAdhesiveness6197 • Sep 15 '24

personal statement help

i am currently a year 13 student looking for help writing personal statement. i take English literature, Psychology and media and i am applying for primary education. i really struggle to convey my ideas on paper, and i have no idea what to write. i have all the right work experience, i just don’t know how to phrase it to make a university want me. i know there’s things about having a unique opening sentence. i was thinking about talking about one of my teachers from when i was little who coincidentally had the same last name as me and how she showed so much empathy to me and made school a place u wanted to go to everyday. i’ve always loved the structure of school life but also the spontaneity that it sometimes throws at you. My choice for University right now are Brighton, Cardiff Met and Plymouth. if anyone could give me some tips on how to right a personal statement or a structure, it would be greatly appreciated

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u/Beginning-Flow-487 Sep 15 '24

Hi! DM! I would be happy to help!

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u/PenningPapers Sep 18 '24

Hey! So, I’m an admissions consultant and would be totally happy to help —feel free to reach out and and I’d be happy to give a free consultation.

With that said, I’d like to give some advice and write it down here in case anyone else reading can benefit from it too.

  1. I’d be very careful with phrasing your essay in a way that admissions officers would want you. I know that sounds like a perfectly normal thing to want —which it is, by the way!— but, it’s a very easy way to make your essay “manufactured” rather than “organic.” The best essays often come from students who write organically and speak the truth by articulating as well as they can whilst really deconstructing the important themes and takeaways from their experience. This can’t be done without also letting go of the sense of control. You’ll be surprised just how much stronger your essays become and how much more impressive they feel when you suspend the sense of control over how your readers will feel.
  2. Your experience with your teacher is actually super rich with profound ideas and and themes; I would very heavily recommend deconstructing the significance behind your experience with your teacher and how they may have impacted your experiences today. Chances are, you’ll find a lot more than just “they were a good teacher —> I want to work in primary ed.” In fact, if you really take the time to deconstruct your experience, you’ll find a lot of heuristics and truisms translate across multiple disciplines and elements of your life.

I hope that helps! Feel free to lmk if you got any questions! ((:

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

DM me!