1. Creative Extras: Personal Statement Mairi Taggart m.taggart@napier.ac.uk Creative Extras: Personal Statement Mairi Taggart m.taggart@napier.ac.uk

2. Your personal statement 4000 characters (including space) / 47 lines Very important to your application! This is your chance to shine, show your qualities and convince admissions tutors why they should offer you a place For courses that are required to interview students, the personal statement can make the difference between being invited in for interview or rejected For courses that do not interview students the personal statement is crucial in determining whether or not you are offered a place. Include only relevant details – don’t waffle Make sure you can talk about anything you mention (could be embarrassing  )

3. Must be well structured and read well Use positive language “Being the team leader in a group project for my Business Studies ‘entrepreneurship assignment,’ enabled me to utilise my excellent team working skills as well as helping me to develop my negotiation and communication skills.” Simple rule – Whenever you say you have a skill or quality you must demonstrate how/where/when you acquired it Use a formal style Try to avoid using lots of sentences starting with ‘I’ Vocabulary

4. Course State reasons for your choice of course Why do you enjoy the subject? Knowledge about the subject Looking forward to studying in greater depth Experiences that confirmed interest Want to put theory into practice Taster days, summer schools, HE experiences Creative Extras! What have you got out of it?

5. Key SkillExample Organisation skillsSocial event, holiday, event at school or college SpeakingPresentations, drama, part-time job, customer service, peer mentoring, anti bullying ListeningPart-time job, school and college, care roles, peer mentoring, anti bullying Working independentlyPart time job, independent research, Duke of Edinburgh or similar, voluntary work Working to deadlinesPart-time job, other extra curricular activities, organising events Team workingSports teams, group work at school or college, Duke of Edinburgh or similar Using initiative/problem solvingExtra curricular activities, school/college life IT skillsWebsite design, blogging, programming, graphics

6. Exercise! Think about what you have learned during Creative Extras week. What Key Skills are they looking for in the areas that you’re thinking of applying to? What can you demonstrate through your personal statement to get you that interview/chance to show your portfolio/place? Complete the Skills/Experience table – 10 mins For Example: Film studies were looking for: -experience of story telling/development of characters Experience of filming- different kinds of shots, influences Understanding of different film techniques/directors and using in work -Dynamic -Work well in a team -Collaborate well across years, schools eg music, drama, english -Individualism -Drive and Passion

7. Key Skill/Experience (for chosen area) Your Example

8. Work Experience Excellent if course related Shows initiative and enthusiasm if organised by you If not course related remember all work has benefit Highlight key skills this experience helped you gain/develop. Roles and Responsibilities Essential to give an example of when you have been responsible Try and give examples to demonstrate you are self-motivated, self disciplined, sociable and independent e.g. Drama production, musical instrument, musical concerts, library assistant, voluntary work, helping staff, computer responsibilities, charity work, debating society, events organiser, others…

9. Outside Interests Demonstrate you are a rounded person Don’t put watching TV, reading, socialising etc… Sports, drama/ dance, hobbies, awards As with work experience, consider which skills you have developed

10. Conclusion Write a concluding sentence Your reasons for entering HE What you hope to gain from your experience What you want to do after graduation

11. Personal Statements A good personal statement is important – it could persuade an admissions officer to offer you a place 4000 characters (including spaces) / 47 lines - This works out at about 28½ tweets Statement should be well set-out - don't pack the paper with information, be aware that the admissions tutor is reading hundreds of these Make sure you can talk about anything you mention (could be embarrassing  ) #NotMuch #Scary

12. Personal Statements In 140 Characters or less, write an opening sentence about why you have chosen the subject you are applying for. Twitter Challenge 112 characters

13. Personal statements are checked against a library of those already in the system, and from a variety of websites and paper publications If you don’t use your own work then you may risk having your application declined Similarity Detection System

14. Personal Statement Examples

15. Personal Statement Example 1 “Although I have never studied psychology before, I would love to gain an insight into how the mind works and why humans do certain things. I have chosen the University of Glasgow and Aberdeen because of the reputation their Psychology departments have. ”

16. Personal Statement Example 1 “Although I have never studied psychology before, I would love to gain an insight into how the mind works and why humans do certain things. I have chosen the University of Glasgow and Aberdeen because of the reputation their Psychology departments have. ”

17. Personal Statement Example 2 “A Sports Leaders Coaching Course has opened a window of relevant opportunities and resulted in a number of valuable sporting experiences, including Sports Leadership, Early Touches in football and a Junior Jog Scotland Workshop. Each of these has taught me the principles of sports coaching and gave me the tools to lead coaching sessions, a good platform on which to develop my skills as a coach at university.”

18. Personal Statement Example 2 “A Sports Leaders Coaching Course has opened a window of relevant opportunities and resulted in a number of valuable sporting experiences, including Sports Leadership, Early Touches in football and a Junior Jog Scotland Workshop. Each of these has taught me the principles of sports coaching and gave me the tools to lead coaching sessions, a good platform on which to develop my skills as a coach at university.”

19. Personal Statement Example 3 “In my spare time, I like nothing more than playing and watching darts, even though I am not very good. With the highest checkout of sixty maybe I should give up. I was asked to play in the local women’s team but I think it was out of pity.”

20. Personal Statement Example 3 “In my spare time, I like nothing more than playing and watching darts, even though I am not very good. With the highest checkout of sixty maybe I should give up. I was asked to play in the local women’s team but I think it was out of pity.”

21. What happens next? Once UCAS have received a completed application form: The application is processed A welcome letter is sent out confirming personal details and choices The chosen universities and colleges will receive a copy of the application The universities and colleges decide whether or not to make an offer Universities reply directly to UCAS, who reply to the student Additional evidence of your suitability may be required (e.g. portfolio, interview) before an offer is made

22. Good Luck!