The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Killer Personal Statement!
October 07, 2018 |
[Written 22/09/2016 - sorry about the out of date references 🙈]
So it's that time of the year when schools start to mention personal statements to Year 12s (you lucky, lucky things...). In all seriousness though, once I got going I actually ‘enjoyed’ writing my personal statement (judge me all you like, but in comparison to Year 13 coursework, it was a breeze). That isn’t to say that it was without it’s stresses: I probably redrafted it around 10 times, and 4000 characters to explain why you're an amazing student is nothing. Seriously it will go like that (snaps finger).
But don’t panic, I’m here with some top tips (and piles of sheets that my school gave me) to help get you through it.
1. Mind Map!
The best way to get started and place all your ideas on one page is to mind map them. Section it into the different things you want to talk about. I split mine into ‘My Qualities’, ‘Why you love (your chosen subject)', ‘background reading’ (a demonstration of you engaging in your chosen subject), ‘extra-curriculum activities’ (y’know all that stuff school go on about you doing cause it will help in later life *cough* DofE *cough*? Yeah it’s, partially, for here) and ‘other’ (after university, jobs, achievements, why you will be an asset to the university).
2. Just Do It!
In the words of Shia Labeouf, get pen on paper and start turning your plan into a first draft. Yes, it will sound pretentious, cocky, full of rubbish and down right awful- that’s why it’s your first draft, not your last(!). Striking the balance between confident in your abilities, yet modest, is for later. If you are struggling with an opening, then write a section you are more inspired by and come back to it. Oh and don’t pay attention to the character count, focus on getting your thoughts down - you will have time to refine it later.
I would recommend writing your first draft by the end of your summer holidays so you can hand it to your chosen teacher before they start getting heaps (and you have longer to work on it. YOU CANNOT RUSH A DECENT PERSONAL STATEMENT! Seriously, it is not a last minute thing, especially as it is the only thing the admissions person will have from you if they don’t interview or ask for additional work). I know this is a bit late now, but if you are applying in the coming years for an early entry subject (oxbridge, medicine etc) then try and handing a first draft at the end of year 12 so you have feedback to work on over the summer.
I would recommend writing your first draft by the end of your summer holidays so you can hand it to your chosen teacher before they start getting heaps (and you have longer to work on it. YOU CANNOT RUSH A DECENT PERSONAL STATEMENT! Seriously, it is not a last minute thing, especially as it is the only thing the admissions person will have from you if they don’t interview or ask for additional work). I know this is a bit late now, but if you are applying in the coming years for an early entry subject (oxbridge, medicine etc) then try and handing a first draft at the end of year 12 so you have feedback to work on over the summer.
I don't know if it's the same now, but in my day (so 3 years ago, gosh I'm old!), UCAS used to time out after 30 minutes so you were at risk of losing unsaved bits if you wrote it straight on the website. Therefore, write your statement in a word document (where you'll also get your spelling and grammar checked!), and only put your statement on UCAS to check line count and when its finished.
3.Structure
Obviously this isn’t the ultimate/only structure to use, but if you are struggling for inspiration, this is what I did:
Your intro should grab the attention of the reader- the admissions officer will read thousands, make yours stands out from the off. Go into where your interest in your subject came from - in my case, looking at my Granddad’s past as a fighter in D-Day, started my interest in WW2.
Para 2: How you have explored your subject further, having gained this initial interest in it.
Mention books and documentaries- or more specifically something interesting your gained from it. Any trips to do with your subject? I mentioned an archaeology trip I went on where I explored the close link between it and history. I also happened to get a report back on my archaeological report I wrote on it so paraphrased the ‘praise’.
Para 3: What other subjects are you studying and how do they complement your chosen subject?
I studied Classics and Biology to A2 level. While classic’s links to history is obvious (it's the study of ancient civilisations), I explained the skills gained from my biology coursework, such as referencing, which is a useful skill at university, and mentioned how my coursework was linked to ancient medicine.
I studied Classics and Biology to A2 level. While classic’s links to history is obvious (it's the study of ancient civilisations), I explained the skills gained from my biology coursework, such as referencing, which is a useful skill at university, and mentioned how my coursework was linked to ancient medicine.
Para 4: What extra curriculum interests do you have?
Any awards won through them? But, MOST IMPORTANTLY, what skills have they given you? Working with others? Confidence? Doing them for a long time shows commitment and dedication! A volunteer? Mention it- especially if it links to your course such as museum work for history.
Any awards won through them? But, MOST IMPORTANTLY, what skills have they given you? Working with others? Confidence? Doing them for a long time shows commitment and dedication! A volunteer? Mention it- especially if it links to your course such as museum work for history.
Para 5: Summarise your key assets (e.g. “being a student librarian furthered my love of reading”.) What do you want to do post degree? Further Study? Got a particular job in mind? How will this degree help you get there, e.g. the skills it will give you.
5. Sharing is caring
6. Read it out-loud
4. What ever you do, don’t:
- Say 'Fascinating' or 'Passionate'. I got this drilled into me by my 6th Form UCAS person. It is generic language admissions officers gets bored of hearing, so be inventive! Of course, if you do say this it’s not going to stop you getting an offer, just don’t...
- ...repeat words alot! Get a thesaurus (those dinosaurs do have a use!), and add variety. You can search for words and use ‘find and replace’ on word, or use an app that will search for your most used words for you (Buzzfeed mentioned the frequency counter “writewords.org” on a Snapchat post ages ago. No idea if it works, so do tell me if you use it and if it’s good 😊 )
- Say you’ve loved your subject from a young age/since you were born/always loved it. You may love maths, but I doubt that instead of crying at birth you recited Pythagoras, hm?! By all means pin-point a teacher or moment that inspired you to look into the subject further, but anytime before around year 10 or 9 should be discounted. Yes, I got a certificate in year 3 for showing interest in world war two, doesn’t mean my future as a history undergrad was set in stone from that moment and I began reading the entire works of Lucy Worsley.
- Tell a story- one of my drafts started by explaining alternate explanations for the princes of the tower mystery, before going into my interest in alternate histories. I thought it was unique, a UCAS advisor at my school was not a fan...
- Copy and paste one you find online. They will find you out, and it is plagiarism!
- Have looooooooong sentences. Does a sentence go over more than 2 lines? Chop it up. This is a great method for getting rid of unnecessary characters :) The same goes for long words - keep it simple!
- Waffle. 4000 characters is not much, stick to the point!
- Talk in a negative tone. The admissions team want to know what skills you do have, not what you don't. Put a positive spin on everything :)
Me and my friends all exchanged personal statements and scrawled corrections all over them- and I mean scrawled haha! A new set of eyes will discover the naff parts, typos, and unnecessary sections you will have skimmed over. I loved doing this. I always highlighted waffle, long sentences and repeats to bring it to said friend’s attention, whether or not I had an alternative to replace it with. Oh, and it doesn’t have to stop at friends. I gave it to my parents and my form tutor. Basically give a draft to as many people that will take it, then collect in all their corrections and suggestions and use this to inform your next draft. You don’t have to take their ideas as gospel, but as ideas for changing it - especially if you have contrasting corrections.
This goes for anything you want to check through (edit: and I still do it before I submit any uni essay!). By reading it out loud you will:
- Find out where commas should be added (normally when you need to take a breath)
- Discover any typos (because you actually have to focus on the words to read it, unlike reading inside your head)
- Will notice long sentences (again, because breathing is a thing)
- Spot the rubbish (cause it will be awkward to say out loud, or realise it's out of place).
Proper life hack haha!
Now go forth, write, rewrite, and rewrite again, and pester everyone until they want to throw it back in your face or turn it into an origami swan out of boredom (Sherlock style, you get me?!).
I know it seems like a faff, but they are simply something that needs doing, so start early and pace yourself to get as many eyes on it as possible! Before you know it, it'll be done and you can get back to what counts above everything else - your grades!
If you have any questions about personal statements, then leave them down below. I'm happy to answer all and any questions, no matter how silly they might be 😊
June xx
Found this useful? Pin this guide to find it quicker than you can say UCAS!
I know it seems like a faff, but they are simply something that needs doing, so start early and pace yourself to get as many eyes on it as possible! Before you know it, it'll be done and you can get back to what counts above everything else - your grades!
If you have any questions about personal statements, then leave them down below. I'm happy to answer all and any questions, no matter how silly they might be 😊
June xx
Found this useful? Pin this guide to find it quicker than you can say UCAS!
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