The UCAS Personal Statement Student Recruitment Officer Sêra Evans-Fear Student Recruitment Officer

What do UCAS want to know? Personal information e.g. name, address Universities you want to apply to Schools / Employment history Completed and ongoing qualifications Reference Personal statement

Number of UCAS applicants…

“The Personal Statement is your chance to sell and differentiate yourself…to influence the Admission Tutors and explain your motivations”

There is no ‘Perfect Statement’ _______________ Stunning, smart, red head female, seeks overweight, elderly male, who must be loaded. Reply to Box 0561 ________________ Attractive, petite, fun-loving female seeks educated intelligent male for long term relationship Reply to Box 1375 There is no ‘Perfect Statement’

Relevant Related Content & 1. Why are you choosing this course? 2. Why should we choose you? Motivation Background to your interest Experience/Key skills Other Evidence of Achievement Current Studies Understanding of course Career Aspirations Relevant Related &

Structuring your personal statement… Why do you want to do this course? Show that you are motivated, interested in the course and have an understanding about the course. Are your current studies related? Did they influence your choice (enjoy/interested in a certain aspect?) What made you choose the course? Do your research to show knowledge of the course e.g. modules, topics Does the course help fulfil your career aspiration? Where would you like to be in 5-10 years time (be realistic)?

3. School achievements/responsibilities 2. Work experience Show what you learnt from the experience/skills you’ve gained. If related to your chosen course, show how it supports your course choice. 3. School achievements/responsibilities School awards/certificates, prefect responsibilities etc - what have you gained from these? What skills have you developed? What do they demonstrate about you?

4. Extra- curricular activities/responsibilities All sorts – sports, voluntary work, special projects etc. Skills you have gained from these? Relate to skills needed for University course. 5. Hobbies/ best experiences Use these to show that you are a well rounded individual and demonstrate how you are unique.

Useful phrases / words… In addition Furthermore Strengthen More recently Enabled me Provided me Opportunity to Reinforce Teamwork Communication skills Commitment Organisation Empathetic Initiative Interpersonal skills Enthusiastic

Use a thesaurus Not… ‘do’ but… undertake, accomplish, achieve, complete, realise, produce, prepare, arrange, organise, be responsible for, take on, be in charge of, originate, design, perform, resolve, decipher, progress, etc.

Not “I” Not… ‘I have gained X skills’ but… ‘the X skills I have gained from Y have strengthened …’ ‘I enjoy playing sport’ ‘the skills developed whilst captaining a local community football club provide me with…’ Not... ‘I enjoy socialising’ ‘socialising is important to me because I am able to create opportunities to…’

Not “I” Not… ‘I have always wanted to…’ but… ‘practical experience in X has reinforced my long-term interest in achieving…’ ‘I have always been interested in…’ ‘my developing interest in X has raised questions about Y that I’d like the opportunity to investigate…’ ‘I am studying A-levels in’ ‘my A-level subjects have enabled me to…’

What admissions tutors are looking for Evidence of: Independent study skills Self-awareness Motivation and commitment An understanding of the course Good numeracy and literacy Essay writing Research skills Time management skills Enthusiasm to go beyond the syllabus

Reasons given to unsuccessful applicants “ You failed to demonstrate sufficient knowledge and interest in the subject in your personal statement. Your personal statement does not strongly support your desire to study your chosen degree. ” These four examples are taken from data given in 2010 to applicants as reasons for being made unsuccessful www.ucas.ac.uk/students/applying/howtoapply/personalstatement/whattoinclude

Planning an overseas holiday Content 5 Experiences – 5 Skills For example: Planning an overseas holiday Going on a first date

The Personal Statement ABC Activity Benefit Course What you’ve done What skills it has given you How these relate to your course Good Better Best

Not just a diary of events… Personal Statements: Elaborate & Analyse Not just a diary of events… “I have…and I have…” but go that one step beyond… What does this prove? What does this show evidence of? Always ask… So what? What more can I say?

Your personal statement should… Discuss your choice of course Show that you have skills suited to University life Show that you are somebody who will benefit from life at University Show that you are going to benefit from the course Show that you are an interesting person

Personal Statements – Avoid being bland Not… Not “From an early age I have been interested in civil engineering…” but… “The Millennium bridge was only open for two days before sideways oscillation of approximately 70mm forced its closure…”

Personal Statements – Avoid being bland Not… “I have always been interested in motor sport…” but… “July 5th 1999 was a key date. On that day I experienced Formula One at 200mph, and wondered how the engineering evolved to cope with such stresses…”

Top 10 most overused personal statement opening sentences 1. I am currently studying a BTEC National Diploma in ... (used 464 times) 2. From a young age I have always been interested in ... (309 times) 3. From an early age I have always been interested in ... (292 times) 4. Nursing is a very challenging and demanding career ... (275 times) 5. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with ... (196 times) 6. "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only” ... (189 times) 7. Nursing is a profession I have always looked upon with ... (178 times) 8. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in ... (166 times) 9. I am an International Academy student and have been studying since ... (141 times) 10. Academically, I have always been a very determined and ... (138 times)

Do not go over the top… … and when I’m not working towards World Peace, I enjoy learning languages from scratch, writing symphonies and playing a standard of golf that Tiger Woods can only dream about.

Punctuation Dear John: I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we are apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours? Gloria Dear John: I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we are apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be. Yours, Gloria The words stay exactly the same – spellchecker could not help you here – yet the meaning is entirely different!

Inappropriate career references.

Applications for more than one subject Joint Honours course: Focus on one subject – e.g. Politics and History, Politics and English: focus on Politics. Talk about both equally – refer to any link between the two subjects. Applying for two completely different courses: Difficult to give enough information about both subjects. Look at all course choices and find a balance

Accepted

Dos & Don’ts… Do Paint a picture of who you are Show enthusiasm & motivation Stand out from the crowd Meet the criteria Elaborate – What? Why? How? Structure – beginning, middle and end Use good spelling and grammar Check, check and re-check

Don’t leave it til the last minute! Dos & Don’ts… Don’t Begin all sentences with ‘I’ Waffle…. Write more than 47 lines Sound like you have swallowed a dictionary Lie Don’t leave it til the last minute!

146million results in 0.26 seconds(!) UCAS has ‘Copycatch’ software which detects statements which are similar to each other or similar to those found online. The applicant’s university choices are informed and appropriate action is taken.

PLAGIARISM Make sure that all work submitted is your own!! When you take the ideas, thoughts, words or inventions of someone else and present them as your own. UCAS will not tolerate plagiarism e.g. copying from other student’s statements, books, the internet. All statements put through a scanning system (Copy Catch) which detects plagiarism. If detected the University is notified and this will have a detrimental effect on your application. Make sure that all work submitted is your own!!

Don’t forget… Honesty! The Reference (written by your tutor) will: Confirm the accuracy of your statement Check & approve your stated qualifications

Personal Statement activity

There is no maximum length to a personal statement TRUE FALSE Question 1 There is no maximum length to a personal statement Answer 1 A personal statement is a maximum of 47 lines or 4000 characters whichever comes first You can enter up to 4,000 characters (this includes spaces) or 47 lines of text (this includes blank lines), whichever comes first. You do not have to use all the space provided. When you save text, the system will tell you how many characters are still available or if you have used too many characters. You can preview your statement after you have saved it.

A personal statement can be written in paragraphs TRUE FALSE Answer 2 You can use paragraphs in a personal statement – remember that blank lines count towards the maximum Question 2 A personal statement can be written in paragraphs

The UCAS Apply software has spelling and grammar checks TRUE FALSE Answer 3 Apply will not spell check your work – we recommend you prepare your personal statement offline using a word-processing package and copy and paste it into apply Question 3 The UCAS Apply software has spelling and grammar checks We recommend that you prepare your personal statement offline using a word-processing package and copy and paste it into the Apply system. Whether you are typing your statement directly into the box, or amending a statement that you pasted in, you should click 'save' regularly because Apply will time-out after 35 minutes of inactivity. The countdown on the screen displays how much time you have left before it times out. The character and line count in Apply may be different to a word-processing package, such as Microsoft Word - this is because formatting characters, such as paragraphs and tabs, are counted in Apply but may be ignored in Word. Please use the size as specified in Apply as the guide.

You can write a different PS for each of your choices TRUE FALSE Answer 4 You only write one personal statement and it will be used for all your choices Question 4 You can write a different PS for each of your choices Remember that you only write one personal statement so it will be used for all your choices. Try not to mention a university or college by name, even if you're applying to only one university - your personal statement cannot be changed if you apply to a different place later. If you're applying for a joint degree you will need to explain why you are interested in both aspects of this joint programme. If you're applying for different subjects or courses, you need to identify the common themes and skills that are relevant to your choices. For example, both mathematics and law are subjects where you have to think logically and apply rules. You may like both subjects because you enjoy solving problems, using theory and natural or man-made laws to come to a correct conclusion. If your chosen courses can't be linked by a common theme, think about your reasons for applying to such varied courses - it might be useful to speak to a careers adviser to get some guidance. If you mention a subject in your personal statement and are applying to other courses, you may be asked by the university or college for additional information about why you have chosen alternative courses.

You can use bold, italics & underlined characters TRUE FALSE Answer 5 You cannot use italics, bold, or underlining in your personal statement - the system will automatically remove this formatting Question 5 You can use bold, italics & underlined characters

You should keep a copy of your personal statement TRUE FALSE Question 6 You should keep a copy of your personal statement Answer 6 The personal statement could be used as the basis for an interview. Keep a copy so you are prepared to answer questions on it

There’s no problem in using material I’ve found on the web TRUE FALSE Answer 7 All personal statements are checked by our system for similarities – see www.ucas.com for more details Question 7 There’s no problem in using material I’ve found on the web All personal statements sent to UCAS are tested for similarity. There are some example personal statements on the internet that have been used by applicants, in some cases word for word. The service we use, called Copycatch, finds statements that show similarity, works out how much of the statement may have been copied, and reports the findings. It helps admissions staff at universities and colleges judge applications, and it is the institutions who decide what action, if any, to take regarding notified cases. Each personal statement is checked against: a library of personal statements previously submitted to UCAS sample statements collected from a variety of websites other sources including paper publications. Each personal statement received at UCAS is added to the library of statements after it has been processed.

There is a link to a ‘Personal statement guide’ on Apply TRUE FALSE Question 8 There is a link to a ‘Personal statement guide’ on Apply Answer 8 The link on Apply will take you to a section on www.ucas.com where you can find help and advice on writing an effective personal statement . Take time to read it

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