[LordFishlock]

There are many people saying that the top unis such as Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Durham don't care much about the fact you have done the DofE or that you go to cadets, but is it still a good idea just to mention it in your PS? Others have said that it can be a decider if your grades are the same as someone else's and they are looking for stand outs? Any help? Just a quick mention of it, not paragraphs.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my MB860

[TheSownRose]

Quick mention, if at all. If you end up with a line or two spare, put it in; if you need to cut something out, irrelevant extra-curriculars (ie, not things like reading around the subject and work experience) are the first things to go.

[Jabberwox]

I was told my personal statement was severely lacking as I had barely any extra curricular activities. I ended up getting 5 Unconditionals (not from Russell Group universities, however )

Universities don't generally care, they are far more interested in your passion for the subject. However, sometimes it can be a worthwhile mention that make your PS look nice. Normally it's best to include extra curriculars that are relevant to your subject like TheSownRose said.

[PurpleEyes]

In my experience, Oxford don't really care about extra-curricular activities at all - it's ALL about showing a passion for your subject and demonstrating evidence of wider reading (and having thoughtful things to say about it!) At my interview (for English Lit), there were no questions about my extra curricular activities at all (in either interview). In the 'do you have any questions?' bit, I asked them if there was a college drama society and my interviewers said that a few of their students were involved in this activity, but that they shouldn't really be doing it. The tutors would rather you spent all your time on your subject than doing extra curriculars - they're one of the top universities for a reason! This probably varies from college to college though, but when you consider how competitive it is, it makes sense. The interview is the most important step. Pretty much everyone there is going to have the same personal statement, predicted grades and score on entry test as you - D of E doesn't add much to your application.

[timeofflight]

I went to a pretty good sixth from and so did my brother. It sends the greatest number of kids to oxbridge of any state sixth form and it has a large intake, so I trust their advice. I was actually just looking at the piece of paper I got about personal statements with my brother. It basically said that for oxbridge extracurricular was out and they just wanted academics and reading and things. For Russell Group extracurricular was in. I applied to Russell Groups and got three offers. I wrote extensively about my extracurricular. HTH

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by timeofflight)
I went to a pretty good sixth from and so did my brother. It sends the greatest number of kids to oxbridge of any state sixth form and it has a large intake, so I trust their advice. I was actually just looking at the piece of paper I got about personal statements with my brother. It basically said that for oxbridge extracurricular was out and they just wanted academics and reading and things. For Russell Group extracurricular was in. I applied to Russell Groups and got three offers. I wrote extensively about my extracurricular. HTH

That doesn't prove that you were successful because you wrote extensively about ECs; it could be that the RG universities accepted you in spite of you writing about ECs.

[M'Ling]

A good interview is infinitely better than a mention of the DoE. So many people do the DoE anyway, so it's not much of an advantage. Definitely put it on there, though, but don't spend more than a sentence or two on it.

[timeofflight]

(Original post by TheSownRose)
That doesn't prove that you were successful because you wrote extensively about ECs; it could be that the RG universities accepted you in spite of you writing about ECs.

Whow! I never said it proved anything! I said what I did. I "HOPE" it helped because I know its not a fact or anything. It's the best I can do. Sorry.

[Podcaster]

A UCL admissions tutor said to our faces that he doesn't care about DofE on an open day.

[TheSownRose]

(Original post by timeofflight)
Whow! I never said it proved anything! I said what I did. I "HOPE" it helped because I know its not a fact or anything. It's the best I can do. Sorry.

Yeah... HTH has an entirely different meaning in my head. Sorry about that.

[timeofflight]

(Original post by TheSownRose)
Yeah... HTH has an entirely different meaning in my head. Sorry about that.

Thats ok. What does it mean in your head? Am I ok using it? Do most people read "hope that helps"?

[LordFishlock]

So really I should read extensively and do other work in my subject but should mention a couple of sentences about how I do cadets and DofE. Or the other option is to get this in my references? Is that a better idea?

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my MB860

[<XOXO>]

(Original post by LordFishlock)
So really I should read extensively and do other work in my subject but should mention a couple of sentences about how I do cadets and DofE. Or the other option is to get this in my references? Is that a better idea?

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my MB860

I would definitely mention it if possible even if it's brief as i adds to your application and although not important, it does no harm (unless you have used it to replaced something amazing - don't do this). I mentioned DofE,Violin etc in my penultimate paragraph. Try to weave it in. If you're lacking characters you'd be surprised just how useful a thesaurus is, finding words that mean the same thing but with less letters, a lifesaver when it came to my personal statement!

[PerArduaAdAstra]

I would say you shouldn't just mention it. Make sure everything you put in is absolutely relevant to your chosen degree. You can't just say you did it, you have to explain why doing it makes you a batter candidate for the course than some other person. What harm can including it do anyway? At the end of the day, almost all universities want someone who can contribute to the life of the place as well as get a degree, so including things like DofE would be good evidence for that.

[Cee_eye_owen_aye]

Just to let you know, something I only realised too late - you don't have to write about DofE in your personal statement, because you can add it under 'qualifications' alongside your GCSEs etc. That way it saves space in your PS but still gets across the good stuff that DofE shows (commitment, ability to do your A Levels as well as other stuff, working under pressure etc.).
And generally, yes, most top places don't really care about extra-curriculars at all, and not mentioning them won't worsen your chances. But can I also say, mentioning them won't worsen your chances either. On the advice of the (Oxford) college I was applying to, I mde two thirds of my PS academic and a full third of it was basically a very artless listing of the non-academic stuff I did, and I still got offers from all five of my choices (three Russell Group, plus Durham and York). You will be able to get across your academic abilities and interests in two-thirds of the PS, and if, like the year-13 me, you think that your extra-curriculars are a large part of you as a person and as a student, then put them in, because a PS is fundamentally to show admissions tutors who you are, not who you think the ideal student would be.

[LordFishlock]

(Original post by Cee_eye_owen_aye)
Just to let you know, something I only realised too late - you don't have to write about DofE in your personal statement, because you can add it under 'qualifications' alongside your GCSEs etc. That way it saves space in your PS but still gets across the good stuff that DofE shows (commitment, ability to do your A Levels as well as other stuff, working under pressure etc.).
And generally, yes, most top places don't really care about extra-curriculars at all, and not mentioning them won't worsen your chances. But can I also say, mentioning them won't worsen your chances either. On the advice of the (Oxford) college I was applying to, I mde two thirds of my PS academic and a full third of it was basically a very artless listing of the non-academic stuff I did, and I still got offers from all five of my choices (three Russell Group, plus Durham and York). You will be able to get across your academic abilities and interests in two-thirds of the PS, and if, like the year-13 me, you think that your extra-curriculars are a large part of you as a person and as a student, then put them in, because a PS is fundamentally to show admissions tutors who you are, not who you think the ideal student would be.

So the DofE can go there, what about the cadets? I could say it shows commitment and can be applied to my subject or something? Thanks for all the advice guys always appreciate it, TSR is a life saver.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my MB860

[Cee_eye_owen_aye]

I don't think there is any particular section for cadets, but I put it in my PS. If you're interested, mine's in the TSR PS library thing, the only Classics and English one. I think if you put your cadets, you don't necessarily need to say what skills it's given you - I think admissions tutors would guess you'd get teamwork and commitment and so on from it. If you can make it relevant to your degree, by all means do so, but be wary of it being tenuous and weird (like mine to be honest). I don't know what you're applying for, but if it's language-based, maybe talk about communication or something? Could be relevant for psychology, too. No idea how you could link it to Music, say...

Note - I'm totally not suggesting (if you do read my PS) that it be seen as a 'model PS' or anything. See it more as a heartening 'you can still get offers even if you write this pile of turd' thing. Also, I see it that if admissions tutors decided that the sort of eager, obnoxious, over-enthusiastic prefect my PS fairly represented me as, I wouldn't have been happy there anyway. Well, that's my logic...

[LordFishlock]

(Original post by Cee_eye_owen_aye)
I don't think there is any particular section for cadets, but I put it in my PS. If you're interested, mine's in the TSR PS library thing, the only Classics and English one. I think if you put your cadets, you don't necessarily need to say what skills it's given you - I think admissions tutors would guess you'd get teamwork and commitment and so on from it. If you can make it relevant to your degree, by all means do so, but be wary of it being tenuous and weird (like mine to be honest). I don't know what you're applying for, but if it's language-based, maybe talk about communication or something? Could be relevant for psychology, too. No idea how you could link it to Music, say...

Note - I'm totally not suggesting (if you do read my PS) that it be seen as a 'model PS' or anything. See it more as a heartening 'you can still get offers even if you write this pile of turd' thing. Also, I see it that if admissions tutors decided that the sort of eager, obnoxious, over-enthusiastic prefect my PS fairly represented me as, I wouldn't have been happy there anyway. Well, that's my logic...

Ok thanks for the info!

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my MB860

[PQ]

Admissions tutors are academics - they spend their life researching and/or teaching. They've spent 3/4 yrs as an undergraduate student studying that subject plus have completed a doctorate in it then pursued a career teaching and researching in it.

THAT is the audience for your PS - and you're writing to them about WHY you want to study THEIR subject.

1/2 sentences on non-subject relevent extra curriculars is MORE than enough - they should only be in there if you feel they are absolutely CRITICAL in communicating who you are as a person to an admissions tutor. DoE does NOT fall into that category in 99% of cases. Time spent in another country, music, art, literature, dedicated involvement in sport *could* come under that category.

If you are able to fill your PS with discussion about your subject and why you want to do it then don't worry about wasting sentences talking about some stuff that you did as a CV booster - especially not if it's something as generic as DoE or "I read fiction" or "listen to lots of music"...your PS is about what makes you unique not about repeating statements that every other applicant could say.

[OSharp]

I suppose it depends slightly on the course as well a PS for medicine should include more EC stuff and Work experience than one for maths for example.

I put lots of EC stuff in aswell as as much work experience as I could.