The "I'm applying to UCAS for 2012 entry" thread

Does anyone think I would be allowed to take full AS and A2 history next year so i can get it before i go to uni?

Read back your question. Do you honestly think that anybody will be able to answer it with the information given?

The only answer is "maybe, it depends on your exam centre" which you'll probably claim doesn't help very much.

I sent you a messgae but dont know if i did it right...can you let me know if it didnt work

Edited now, i lack common sense at times

I've just woken up so doubt this is going to end up explaining what I want it to explain but if it isn't clear I will amend it on request, lol.

In short - I think what you outline above is fine; there is no need to artificially relate everything back to yourself beyond stating you've done it, and what you gained from it etc because it is essentially implicit that anything stated in a personal statement is related to the person, if you see what I mean. I'm not sure that I fully understand how much further you can make it about you without it becoming meaningless. Showing you understand is much better achieved by making a penetrating comment about X, or making a comparison to Y theory you thought explained Z in a far less believable way and explain why. This is preferably to simply prefixing a statement with "I understand that..." which, while often fine, is not a magically persuasive phrase.

Just aim for a statement which reads naturally, is concise and relevant, and doesn't have too much nonsense about how you are a house captain or whatever other stuff people think they care in the slightest about

Now - coffee time. I left my laptop on so this was literally typed as soon as I woke up

Thanks for the help! I feel special about this post being the first you typed in the morning.

Look at the HEAP book? That's got everything do with offers, it'll be really useful for you

It probably isn't humorous, and given that there is a good chance the person who reads it won't think so, yes - it probably is a waste of space. If you really want to put it that's your call though.

Nice assumption to make right there. It might not be interpreted as purposefully funny, so will tutors look down on it if it isn't outright obvious?

I mean the quote is "Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages, it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and goes through their pockets."

My tutor found it funny and was enthusiastic to put it in there and I am of course looking for other quotes, but if you read that would you think it to be a joke or humorous?

Buzzword and work experience information and booklet to fill in. They're refusing to send it, saying that they weren't aware I wasn't at college last week, despite me e-mailing and my mum phoning and actually telling the receptionist to pass it on to this particular tutor that I wouldn't be there, and he's saying they had no idea where I was. So basically, they didn't live up to their policy to call parents - for all they knew, I could have been telling my parents I was going to college every morning, but actually going off getting into trouble I'm hoping to transfer to a different college this year. It's quite awkward, when it's the biggest group of colleges in North Wales, but there's one that's harder to get to but will hopefully be better organized than this one.

Nice assumption to make right there. It might not be interpreted as purposefully funny, so will tutors look down on it if it isn't outright obvious?

I mean the quote is "Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages, it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and goes through their pockets."

My tutor found it funny and was enthusiastic to put it in there and I am of course looking for other quotes, but if you read that would you think it to be a joke or humorous?

Nice assumption to make right there. It might not be interpreted as purposefully funny, so will tutors look down on it if it isn't outright obvious?

I mean the quote is "Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages, it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and goes through their pockets."

My tutor found it funny and was enthusiastic to put it in there and I am of course looking for other quotes, but if you read that would you think it to be a joke or humorous?

What?? Is there some examples on TSR??

Just write everything you want not even thinking about the character limit and then delete the bits that you feel arn't as strong. That seems the best way.

I'm a bit confused on paragraphing. Is the paragraph space just counted as one character or more?

They will have ready almost everything before so will read on anyway, and often if you find something that has never been used before there is a good reason why....

Yes, there are. Some of them are so bad I use them as examples of what not to do with my students. Take them with a pinch of salt.

Haha aww ok thank you
I've looked at some of them and they are either very specific (ie i went to america to learn english for a year after 3 yrs in korea) or stupid....but they're a start i guess

They're certainly a start, but don't let them be the finish! There's a journalism one where the applicant has obviously gone through the thesaurus and bunged in every word which takes his fancy regardless of meaning and it makes me howl with laughter every time I read it. Better to be solid, purposeful and successful than verbose, pretentious and hilarious.