Applying for English: Advice from an admissions tutor

Original post by chiarax213

Wait so universities don't want to see a lot of extracurricular and super curricular activities?

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Not at the expense of demonstrating what a good academic candidate you are, no. Even Durham (which is interested a lot more than most unis are in your extra-curricular activities) will expect top-dollar academic credentials as a minimum.

Reply 103

chiarax213

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Original post by Minerva

Not at the expense of demonstrating what a good academic candidate you are, no. Even Durham (which is interested a lot more than most unis are in your extra-curricular activities) will expect top-dollar academic credentials as a minimum.

Oh ok thanks cause I was getting a bit worried because I'm not doing any summer schools, since I've missed the deadlines unfortunately. I've done a fee things outside of school but I can't find time for regular extracurricular activities during the school week

Reply 104

Original post by chiarax213

Oh ok thanks cause I was getting a bit worried because I'm not doing any summer schools, since I've missed the deadlines unfortunately. I've done a fee things outside of school but I can't find time for regular extracurricular activities during the school week

You aren't the only one in that position. Attending Summer Schools is certainly not 'compulsory' or anything like.

Reply 105

@Minerva how much should I right about different books i've read and do you think I should mention I've wrote some fanfiction aswell?

Reply 106

Original post by scrawlx101

@Minerva how much should I right about different books i've read and do you think I should mention I've wrote some fanfiction aswell?

I do hope you are using predictive text, as if you meant to use 'right' when you mean 'write' you will have some difficulty convincing an admissions tutor that you are a suitable candidate for an English degree. Equally, using "I've wrote" instead of "I've written" would be worrying.

There's no reason why you can't mention your own writing, but you need to consider whether the admissions tutor would take 'fanfiction' as a genre seriously. If they might not, it might be better to leave this out.

As for writing about books you have read, you need to make sure that your PS is balanced overall, and remember why you are writing about this reading in the first place. So, whatever you put in needs to add value to the case you are trying to make that (a) you are committed to the subject and (b) you know something about it beyond what you've covered at school.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 107

any tips for personal statements? what type of things should we include(i've talked about the books ive read from gcse to alevel with a bit of analysis and i read about a book i read by obama(his autobiography which i found interesting).I wrote about my EPQ which was based on psychology instead of english since at the time i wanted to do a psychology degree i got an E in it.How can i find Eng Lit courses rather than eng lang courses?

Reply 108

Original post by scrawlx101

any tips for personal statements?

Make sure you use upper and lower case appropriately, and also leave at least one space (but preferably two) between a full stop and the beginning of the next sentence. There should also be spaces between any punctuation (including brackets) and the first letter of the next word. These formatting rules make any document easier to read, but are crucial for personal statements.

what type of things should we include(i've talked about the books ive read from gcse to alevel with a bit of analysis and i read about a book i read by obama(his autobiography which i found interesting).

The clue is in the name of the degree you are interested in: literature. Autobiographies, being non-fictionn, would not be particularly relevant. See the OP of this thread for more guidance on what the admissions tutors will be looking for.

I wrote about my EPQ which was based on psychology instead of english since at the time i wanted to do a psychology degree i got an E in it.

If your EPQ was about psychology, it's not really relevant for a PS to support your application for a place to read English Literature, is it?

How can i find Eng Lit courses rather than eng lang courses?

Use UCAS Course Search.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 109

Original post by Minerva

Make sure you use upper and lower case appropriately, and also leave at least one space (but preferably two) between a full stop and the beginning of the next sentence. There should also be spaces between any punctuation (including brackets) and the first letter of the next word. These formatting rules make any document easier to read, but are crucial for personal statements.

The clue is in the name of the degree you are interested in: literature. Autobiographies, being non-fictionn, would not be particularly relevant. See the OP of this thread for more guidance on what the admissions tutors will be looking for.

If your EPQ was about psychology, it's not really relevant for a PS to support your application for a place to read English Literature, is it?

Use UCAS Course Search.

um but surely my EPQ has some relevance as it taught me how to reference and enhanced my research skills?

isnt an autobiography a form of literature?

Reply 110

nulli tertius

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Original post by scrawlx101

isnt an autobiography a form of literature?

This is running before you can walk. Biography is an under-researched form of literature and you might well do your PhD on it. However an undergraduate English Literature degree is about understanding various literary theories and applying them to the received canon of Eng Lit for particular periods, schools or genres of fiction. Read works that are (a) in the canon of Eng Lit but (b) aren't on your A level syllabus and (c) preferably were written in different periods.

Reply 111