UCAS - Personal Statement.

[Goldstone Rapper]

It's not really a nail on head, is it? We don't know what the OP plans to study and whether it is necessary to go to University or not.

Well, how it occurs to me is that the main reason for the OP to go to university seems to be so he/she can be in the city. It's not clear that the OP knows a) what he/she wants to achieve in his life b) how a particular university course will provide an access to it. In such a circumstance, university is not the best move, given the cost.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Dear You,
I've got issues, yes. I am not the friend of everyone. My mind doesn't always do somersaults of joy when someone tells me what to do or think. I am not a rebel, but at the same time, i don't take shit kindly from them in charge or members of the public who think they know more than me. I was fired once from Subway when some prime ass said my meatballs hadn't been completely thawed, one of them impossible to bite through. I threw one at her and it left bruising, so she was right, but still, i'm no agony uncle or chef. I offered her a free voucher after we'd cleaned the mess up, but she was having none of it. "I want to see the manager." she said, all hoitytoity. I chuckled and sent through Al, the guy in charge, who is more dumb than me, or should i say I. He came out with that regular just-woken-up look and pretended to listen to her complaint, nodding like a little toy dog, his shirt in three areas untucked and his namebadge upright with a hint of the sauce that recently covered it. His fingers were crossed behind his back to let me know that whatever he told her was untrue. She was screaming the more it went on and Al was beginning to get a bit annoyed himself. It was around this time that one of the Subway people came around to inspect, you know, in disguise. The costume didn't last for long though as Al had started screaming back. "Shut it. Just f***ing shut your mouth!!" Me and Al were escorted from the premises, but went back just before closing to smash a window. They must have known it was us, but whatever.
I didn't have any wages for a couple of months, but that was ok. I was living at home. It was then that i had the idea of going to university. Al kept coming round. He liked my mum, i think, but the novelty of his visits lost their power to me. I'd have to directly drag him from the house by 9, the watershed, and i was afraid that mum, Betty to her friends, was starting to think of him as more than the oaf he was. If that was going to happen, i don't want to be around to see it. I feel like i haven't had as much fun as i could as a youngster, and i reckon university will be a right laugh. I heard, on average, you do about 9 hours of work a week and the rest of it is football and tennis and drinking cheaply and working tax-free in factories in holiday season. I had a flick through the catalogue, if you can really say you do that on the internet as flicking is something different there, and saw the word Business. I like a bit of business, i thought. I like buying things and haggling for bargains. I'd bought a half-price bong in Tunisia back in '07 and took to the idea of tussling in the marketplace and picking up possibly expensive rubbish online for cheap. So here i am. That's me. Like me or lump me. I don't give a shit.

Get in touch soon though. I have a pigging life to live and Al will be around again in a bit giving it the big one near Betty.

Seeya

Me

Not very interesting, but there you go.

 

[WhingForPresident]

You HAVE to make it stand out- if it's the same as everyone elses, they won't even give it a second glance.
I incorporated some stories from my childhood which relate to the present day with education and whatnot, went on about extra-curricular stuff like the football teams I've played for and other sports etc, explained my character, explained that I wanted to experience living in a city after living in a small town for so long (broadening horizons etc) and a few things about ambitions, like travelling the world and all that.
Whatever you do, DO NOT quote Martin Luther King, Einstein, Darwin, Shakespeare etc. It will just make you look like a cock.
Feel free to PM if you want- I managed to blag 5 offers last year with pretty average expected grades

 

[Southwick_Seagull]

It completely depends on the circumstance, university and course. It can give you a great head start in many areas of employment, subject to how well you do at uni of course. And in some areas of employment (law, medicine), uni is the only way to get there.

Besides, university is about so much more than just getting a job at the end of it. You make friends for life, you mature, you develop your mind, you become a more well-rounded individual and at the end of it you leave uni with a different perspective of life.

I highly recommend it.

Totally agree. Starting my final year in September and above all else this part of the experience is the one that is most valuable and often overlooked.

As far as the statement and UCAS yes it's a pain in the arse but wait till you get to meet the Student Finance people, then the real fun begins. Not even the worst ticket binfest on here matches the sheer frustration and anger that is felt while dealing with those people.

 

[ryeseagull]

"I have powerful genitals."

That will set you apart.

 

[SeagullEd]

Hey I applied for Economics and management (probably the most relevant bit) last year (am studying now) and got 5 offers. I am happy to send it to you if you PM me ; we discussed my personal statement in the interview so have a fair amount of feedback.

Few general tips;

Structure is THE most important thing, very few candidates are good at structuring essays so it also shows something of this. So be ruthless with what you say. I thought about it before I started and tried to come up with; one thing about me, one thing i've done and one point about the subject with regards to why I want to do the course and, of course, with an eye as to why I'd be good at it. Then structure your paragraphs around this.

Read every sentence really critically. If it doesn't add anything, get rid of it; don't fill space.

THINK about what you're saying especially about skills: people put 'and this helped my communication skills' etc and you need to think how? why? can be you be more specific? Think about what each thing tells the admissions tutor and don't use throw-away comments and generalisations like 'teamwork skills'

Querky things are only necessary if they're relevant and representative of you. If you're trying to THINK of something querky then stop. It 9 times out of 10 won't come off and the idea you need to get remembered is overexagerated because mostly they'll just sort the statements as they go - being remembered is only important if you're a borderline candidate. If you're worried about meeting entry requirements then nailing why you want to do the course is even more crucial and being one of the remembered personal statements in the 'maybe' pile will help.

Show that you have researched the course. The way to do this is to research the course and your understanding will be implicit but if there is something in their degree programme specifically that interests you mention it ( they'll be very pleased that someone has paid attention) but be careful not to alientate your other choices

Subject specific tips:

Find 'buzz words'; if you have been to talks at the uni or know someone on the course there are likely to be 'buzz words' that are good to include, if relevant. For instance, one of the uni's I applied to kept referring to maths as a 'tool' so I mentioned, seeing as I had done Maths and Further Maths, how I felt they had help me and whilst useful in themselves I thought of them more as a tool for analysis of the real world especially in the study of economics (My personal statement was fairly maths heavy so I felt I needed to justify not applying for Maths as well)

In general, don't say you're doing business because you want a career or because you want to get rich or because you want to start a company etc. This might be more relevant to very highly competitive uni's but nonetheless management and business academics view their subject in an academic light and generally wouldn't consider that the only use or only point of studying business is to get a job - clearly they haven't chosen this reason. I would always says on your personal statement be true to yourself and what you actually want it for because you want to be awarded a place -or not - on who you are... if they reject someone you were trying to be then you will be very dissappointed. However, the things about wanting a job etc might be true, but try to think of what parts of business interest you; e.g the strategic side of firms, perhaps their relationship with the market or the operations of the organization or the behaviour of its employees etc and emphasize these.

If you're looking foe reading then I can recommend you numerous articles or books depending on what you say in particular you are intersted in but something like The Visible Hand by Chandler is a key work that explores the rise of business and, in many ways, the rise of managers and the study of business. A few readings like this should impress as long as you justify them.

The one last point I would give you is that when you have written a first draft think of yourself as an admissions tutor and think what they are looking for. Most importantly, it's commitment to the course. The whole university don't want people dropping out and you're more likely to do well for them if you're interested. Extra-curriculars can be overstated... however, this is more true at very competitive uni's (one tutor I listened to in a talk literally said "Please don't go on about the duke of edinburgh, i dont give a shit if you've climbed some hills"). You're less liekly to drop out and be an issue to them if you are a social person (bring in extra curriculars) who, if you're particularly good at one, might excel at one and make a name for themselves. So With extra curriculars my main advice would be if there is one that particularly jumps out and you think is important then mention it but think about its' importance and if not then towards the end mention a few additional reasons which are related to extra curricular as to why you are looking forward to beginning your studies at universities.

Sorry for that essay, I just remember being SO confused and reading a loads of different advice but now I have spoken to a tutor about it and stuff hopefully this helps. It is so much easier once you've got your first draft done as well.

 

[Shoreham Beach Seagull]

I'm hopefully about to start Business Management with Finance at Brighton Uni, my personal statement wasn't anything special but if you want an outline PM me. As Southwick Seagull says, wait till you do student finance that's a barrel of laughs

 

[Pottie]

I have been struggling for ages with my personal statement. This site has samples and services that could help you Custom Writing, Editing, Review and Critique of Personal Statements. this is who I am using atm. Also just google and see what you find, that could help!