Ellie Whelan
Personal statement advice comes in from all directions: from teachers, and school friends, to the internet. However, with this overwhelming mass of information, it is difficult to synthesise what is really important.
Also, with everyone relying on the same advice, students often feel that their application will merge into the sea of other ‘good’ UCAS forms. Thus this forbids their individuality from making a splash. Fear not. This is the quick but comprehensive, 5-step UCAS checklist to ensure that your application does not simply swim in the sea of other personal statements and good grades, but in fact, splashes them out of the water.
So, these are the five most important UCAS tips to help you secure five amazing offers!
Show, don’t tell
Every statement must be backed up. So, you would like a career in medicine. Why? Has work experience shown you the reality of this demanding job? Has volunteering or a job revealed that you would like a leadership position? Justify everything with experience or further research. Prove to the admissions officer that you are committed to the degree and that your passion is rooted in super-curricular reading or activities. Whatever you do, do not say you are doing a degree because “you have been passionate about … since you were a child”. Please.
Don’t list
Although having a repertoire of super-curricular activities and reading is important, the admissions tutors are not looking for the library inventory. Do not simply list everything you have read or done in the hopes of impressing the admissions tutor. This will not work.
Universities are looking for students who can draw conclusions and similarities between texts. Students who are not afraid to form opinions. Link your reading together by ideas, instead of listing. For instance, “the treatment of women in ‘Jane Eyre’ closely relates to the inequality of the sexes in ‘Aurora Leigh‘ insomuch as the women are not worthy enough to marry an upper-class man until he is reduced to their status”. Link thematically.
Be succinct
The word count is tight. Wasting precious characters on meaningless words and phrases, like “very” or “on the other hand” is wasting precious space to express ideas. Cut out all adverbs and flowery language. Express your ideas clearly, then move on. Do not drag out an idea more than is necessary.
Cut down on the extracurriculars
Supercurriculars are what top universities care about, not extracurriculars. So, what is the difference? Whereas the former can be extra reading or work experience, the latter refers to hobbies which bear no relevance to your degree. Unless your hobbies relate directly to your degree, e.g. debating and politics, they do not play a role in the university’s decision to offer you a place.
Oxbridge and other top universities realise that extracurricular activities are class-based. People from higher incomes have more opportunities to pursue a range of sports and musical endeavours than their less privileged counterparts. Save the space for your academic interests.
Do Not Forget the Importance of a Teacher’s Reference
The personal statement reflects only a snippet of your academic interests. Thus, if there is something important you want to include, but don’t have room for in the personal statement, ask the teacher to put it in their reference. The teachers want you to receive the maximum 5 offers, thus they are willing to help you ensure your personal statement and reference are immaculate.
Featured image courtesy of Burst via Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
