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Personal Statement Question Thread

Reply 3080

Paper Moon

Original post by lizolove

Brilliant, thanks!
I don't do it for the rep, I do it to help, but the rep is certainly appreciated. :biggrin:

Thank you!

I am glad it's helping someone! That's literally what I discovered when I researched the requirements for the statement and obviously with my statement too. I'll keep updating this when I discover what I've missed out, so keep checking back! :biggrin:

Awesome! I will check back regularly as I write my statement! :smile:

The programme/scholarship is really competitive, so I'll need my statement to be outstanding in order to even be considered (only 40 people are chosen per year- probably out of thousands applying).

Reply 3081

perpend

Original post by Paper Moon

Awesome! I will check back regularly as I write my statement! :smile:

The programme/scholarship is really competitive, so I'll need my statement to be outstanding in order to even be considered (only 40 people are chosen per year- probably out of thousands applying).

Keep in mind the guide was written for the UCAS personal statement, which is for undergraduate entry. A personal statement for postgraduate entry would likely require a different emphasis - in fact I think most postgraduate admissions aren't even handled by UCAS.

Reply 3082

Paper Moon

Original post by perpend

Keep in mind the guide was written for the UCAS personal statement, which is for undergraduate entry. A personal statement for postgraduate entry would likely require a different emphasis - in fact I think most postgraduate admissions aren't even handled by UCAS.

Thank you. I think that this is a fair point.

However, I think that the tips that lizolove provided will still be quite useful. :smile:

Reply 3083

Good bloke

19

Original post by lizolove

The statement (as I am aware - please correct me if it has changed) has a maximum of 4000 characters, to which I recommend you use AS many as possible.

No, no and thrice no! Read my profile to see why.

My ability to debate compliments my passion for the subject of Law

I hope you didn't write this. It betrays an ignorance of both English grammar and the correct use of words. Compliment does not mean the same as complement, and law is not a proper noun.

My attention to detail and perfectionist attitude

I do wish people would start to realise that being a perfectionist is a fault, not an asset, in most situations.

Personality, hobbies and so on are what it is about

Oh dear! I'm afraid your advice is sub-optimal.

Reply 3084

vedderfan94

16

Yeah I couldn't agree more with Good bloke. I don't see why you've been ignorant of all the help available on here already and why you've taken your PS to be amazing just because you got an offer from Sheffield.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 3085

oxymoronic

OP

19

Original post by Paper Moon

Awesome! I will check back regularly as I write my statement! :smile:

The programme/scholarship is really competitive, so I'll need my statement to be outstanding in order to even be considered (only 40 people are chosen per year- probably out of thousands applying).

Please don't follow the that post for PhD/MA/anything important sort of PS writing. You need to follow the information given by the universities in their advertisement of their studentships or similar. Each university has compeltely different requirements and really does not care at all what your hobbies or are if you're a nice person. They want to know about your area of research and why you think you should be given money to research it, your academic background and how you can contribute to research at their university by having an appropriate link with your potential supervisor etc. If you write a PS following these guidelines then you won't be successful - they're debatable for undergraduate level (universities don't care then about your hobbies or your personality either) and certainly should not be followed for a postgraduate application.

Look in the postgraduate forum on TSR for more appropriate advice. There are loads of support pages which are more relevant to what you're looking for here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Postgraduate_Study :smile:

There is also a thesis proposal writing guide for PhD apps.

Reply 3086

lizolove

19

Original post by Paper Moon

Awesome! I will check back regularly as I write my statement! :smile:

The programme/scholarship is really competitive, so I'll need my statement to be outstanding in order to even be considered (only 40 people are chosen per year- probably out of thousands applying).

Fair enough. I hope this helps you.
This is basically a guide, not something you should completely base your writing on. This is what I did and managed to get all offers, so hopefully it'll work for you too. :smile:

Reply 3087

lizolove

19

Original post by Good bloke

No, no and thrice no! Read my profile to see why.

I hope you didn't write this. It betrays an ignorance of both English grammar and the correct use of words. Compliment does not mean the same as complement, and law is not a proper noun.

I do wish people would start to realise that being a perfectionist is a fault, not an asset, in most situations.

Oh dear! I'm afraid your advice is sub-optimal.

Well, what I wrote was successful, as I achieved my places. I don't have my PS on me, but this is pretty much what I wrote. Bear in mind I did write this at 1-2am, so mistakes were bound to happen.

Reply 3088

lizolove

19

Original post by Paper Moon

Thank you. I think that this is a fair point.

However, I think that the tips that lizolove provided will still be quite useful. :smile:

Thank you. This is literally the only intention I had! I wanted to help those who were lost for ideas to begin with and create a thread so that it was easier to find on google. I didn't mention that my thread was 'amazing', but so many people ask me for advice with statements, so I thought I'd write a guide. :smile:

Reply 3089

HeavyTeddy

16

Hello

,

I'm hopefully going to apply for Medicine with a backup of Pharmacy for 2013 entry.

When should I start drafting my personal statement?

Thanks.

Reply 3090

lizolove

19

Original post by HeavyTeddy

Hello

,

I'm hopefully going to apply for Medicine with a backup of Pharmacy for 2013 entry.

When should I start drafting my personal statement?

Thanks.

It's up to you when you do, but you can submit your application from Sept-January, so whenever you find it appropriate. I'd personally start in the summer, but it's obviously not a bad idea to have a look at what the universities want.
I'd recommend reading through some threads like this and checking this site for "example Medicine personal statements". Like I said above, it may be far too early to start worrying about it now, but just ensure you don't leave it until the last minute. You could try writing one now if you were that eager, but I'd definitely not say you'd need to start writing it until July/August at the earliest.
:smile:

Reply 3091

HeavyTeddy

16

Original post by lizolove

It's up to you when you do, but you can submit your application from Sept-January, so whenever you find it appropriate. I'd personally start in the summer, but it's obviously not a bad idea to have a look at what the universities want.
I'd recommend reading through some threads like this and checking this site for "example Medicine personal statements". Like I said above, it may be far too early to start worrying about it now, but just ensure you don't leave it until the last minute. You could try writing one now if you were that eager, but I'd definitely not say you'd need to start writing it until July/August at the earliest.
:smile:

Alright, thanks. :biggrin:

I'll start after all my exams are finished.

Reply 3092

lizolove

19

Original post by HeavyTeddy

Alright, thanks. :biggrin:

I'll start after all my exams are finished.

Good idea!
Even if it is brief research, you will be one step ahead. If you come across anything good now, just note it so you can go back to it after your exams. Good luck! :biggrin:

Reply 3093

roar558

11

Original post by HeavyTeddy

Hello

,

I'm hopefully going to apply for Medicine with a backup of Pharmacy for 2013 entry.

When should I start drafting my personal statement?

Thanks.

I'd start as soon as possible, medicine is a very competitive course and you are expected to apply before 15/10/12, you have 8 months left which may seem a long time but considering how many drafts and redrafts you will probably do combined with your schoolwork, it will pass very quickly. I would also have a look at the UKCAT/BMAT tests. Several people were not aware of these exams until close to the deadline, schools don't always advertise the fact that these tests are mandatory to apply to most medical/dental schools.

Reply 3094

Good bloke

19

Original post by lizolove

Well, what I wrote was successful, as I achieved my places. I don't have my PS on me, but this is pretty much what I wrote. Bear in mind I did write this at 1-2am, so mistakes were bound to happen.

As I have said before, it is a mistake to assume that the reason you received offers was that you wrote a good PS. In fact, you may have received offers despite having a poor PS - it is, after all, only one part of your application.

I don't really see why mistakes are more likely to happen if you write it at that time; if you are making a big issue of a piece of advice, as you did, it is incumbent on you to get it right, and you could have done that by reconsidering your draft at a later time before posting it.

It is axiomatic that all candidates should aim to eliminate all grammatical and spelling errors, including the many silly ones that your piece is riddled with, but you should also aim to get the big picture right, and you have failed to do so, I'm afraid.

Reply 3095

Good bloke

19

Original post by HeavyTeddy

Hello

,

I'm hopefully going to apply for Medicine with a backup of Pharmacy for 2013 entry.

When should I start drafting my personal statement?

Thanks.

The most sensible time is just before summer term ends, after your exams. At that point you will already know the lessons you have learned from your medicine-relevant ECs and can make a decent stab at a first draft and have the summer to hone it, and won't be distracting yourself from achieving good results in your AS exams.

Reply 3096

Becca-Sarah

19

Original post by lizolove

It's up to you when you do, but you can submit your application from Sept-January, so whenever you find it appropriate. I'd personally start in the summer, but it's obviously not a bad idea to have a look at what the universities want.
I'd recommend reading through some threads like this and checking this site for "example Medicine personal statements". Like I said above, it may be far too early to start worrying about it now, but just ensure you don't leave it until the last minute. You could try writing one now if you were that eager, but I'd definitely not say you'd need to start writing it until July/August at the earliest.
:smile:

For Medicine, they can only submit in September and the first half of October.

Reply 3097

lizolove

19

Original post by Becca-Sarah

For Medicine, they can only submit in September and the first half of October.

Yes, my apologies there. I meant Medicine in a separate example.
Medicine, veterinary science, dentistry and Oxbridge applications MUST be made before a specific date mid-October, do not forget.

Reply 3098

TheShapeofPunk

I've just recived an email from plymouth about my personal stament asking me to submit a revised statment thats relevant to podiatry by the 27th of feb.

Does this mean my personal statment was not good enough? Or my application as a whole?

In the email this link was attached.

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk./pages/view.asp?page=32082

Reply 3099

Interrobang

20

Original post by TheShapeofPunk

I've just recived an email from plymouth about my personal stament asking me to submit a revised statment thats relevant to podiatry by the 27th of feb.

Does this mean my personal statment was not good enough? Or my application as a whole?

In the email this link was attached.

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk./pages/view.asp?page=32082

Did you apply or mention interest in other subjects? Your PS should be focused on podiatry if that's what you're wanting to do. It's why you can't easily apply for different courses. At least 2/3 of your PS should be on why you want to study (in this case) podiatry

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