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how should i explain past failures?

hi so im currently writing my personal statement and ive hit a wall.

im a mature student (27) currently taking an access to science course with the end goal of studying a masters in aerospace engineering at Swansea. i am confident i will be getting distinction in every module and will be on top of the entry requirements for the course.

the problem is that this is not the first time i have taken this course (i achieved PPP in my first attempt) and previous academic achievements have not been great either. i dont want to put down a sob story but in brief i had a pretty terrible time in school and my last attempt at higher education was undermined by serious mental health issues which i have dealt with and are in the past now.

i have been told that im not allowed to omit previous qualifications no matter how bad they are but im really worried that Swansea will look at my previous attempt at this course and my middling to poor GCSEs. and think i wont complete the degree.

how can i explain this in a good way? how can i make this into a positive?
Original post by Henry27
hi so im currently writing my personal statement and ive hit a wall.

im a mature student (27) currently taking an access to science course with the end goal of studying a masters in aerospace engineering at Swansea. i am confident i will be getting distinction in every module and will be on top of the entry requirements for the course.

the problem is that this is not the first time i have taken this course (i achieved PPP in my first attempt) and previous academic achievements have not been great either. i dont want to put down a sob story but in brief i had a pretty terrible time in school and my last attempt at higher education was undermined by serious mental health issues which i have dealt with and are in the past now.

i have been told that im not allowed to omit previous qualifications no matter how bad they are but im really worried that Swansea will look at my previous attempt at this course and my middling to poor GCSEs. and think i wont complete the degree.

how can i explain this in a good way? how can i make this into a positive?


Don't dwell on it. Forget about school results - you don't need to explain that you have a different attitude towards work aged 27 than you did aged 17. Just have a short sentence towards the end (not your closing statement though - make sure that's positive and looking forward) that explains that mental illness undermined your last attempt at an access course and that you've now dealt with those issues.

People come to university through all sorts of routes - as long as your PS and reference give admissions staff the impression that you're ready NOW to do well on their course then past problems wont hold back your application.
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Henry27
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Original post by PQ
snip.


thankyou i hadnt thought about it in those terms and i was quite worried that i would have to devote a large part of my personal statement to explaining my past.

that has made writing it a bit easier

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