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Do Personal Statements Have To Sound weird?

Reply 20

JaxT

8

Juno

As long as you don't use the phrase "From an early age I was interested in X" then I'm sure it will be fine.

Bugger!!

Back to the drawing board!! :rolleyes:

Reply 21

Juno

20

ATPB

I used it in my first line. :biggrin:

Was true though, and my Personal Statement was a lot less cheesy than some of my friends'.

Well, it does depend a bit on how you use it.

"From an early age, I was interested in maths since I realised that learning to count earlier than my friends meant I could ensure I got one more smartie than them."
is a lot more believable than
"From an early age I enjoyed solving quadratic equations in the bath".

Reply 22

qubog

12

I'm looking at my cheesy personal statement now and laughing. It begins like this: (i've been accepted to study social anthropology/social policy)

"Throughout my academic career I have realised that the study of people and culture is the topic that sparks my imagination and drives me towards a clearer understanding of myself and the areas in society where I can strive to make a positive difference to the lives of others."

When i said that my personal statement was somewhat made up, i wasn't lying. I'm really not that bothered about making a positive difference to the lives of others :wink:

Reply 23

huhu

OP

qubog

When i said that my personal statement was somewhat made up, i wasn't lying. I'm really not that bothered about making a positive difference to the lives of others :wink:

Of course "I don't really care about others" makes an impressive but less positive opener for a PS :biggrin:

I understand you guys and I can imagine a lot of circumstances prompting such cheesy statements. Since I'm an outsider of the system and not really involved in the whole UCAS procedure (I have to apply individually) my personal statement must even sound different from the ones you wrote.
If I sent in something like that a tutor can only come to believe that I copied from example statements on the internet.

I will just write the truth, though. Something like "My interest in engineering and science developed over the last five years that I've been attending a technical school..."
I deem that as not cheesy and honest enough to be good... What do you think?

Walter

Reply 24

<(+_+)>

10

I don't know how I'm going to write a personal statement and sound enthusiastic if I can't even choose a course. =S

My PS will sound something like this -

"I've been interested in ______ for around 2 weeks now, ever since the deadline forced me to randomly choose a course."

Reply 25

~Linh~

2

wow most of those PS's were weak, you should just try being honest and yourself..

Reply 26

mateyface

1

omg personal statements are really REALLY really really hard hard! can't i just apply thorough clearing and cut out the embarrassment/pain of saying why i love physics so bad i could almost marry it?

Reply 27

*Tears and Butterflies*

2

<(+_+)>

I don't know how I'm going to write a personal statement and sound enthusiastic if I can't even choose a course. =S

My PS will sound something like this -

"I've been interested in ______ for around 2 weeks now, ever since the deadline forced me to randomly choose a course."

i'm sure you'll decide eventually.

Reply 28

silken1987

1

I wrote mine myself and, at times, I didn't think it was a little cheesy but hey thats what its all about. You've really got to self yourself and show that you can offer something to the university that another candidate cannot.

Reply 29

Juno

20

mateyface

omg personal statements are really REALLY really really hard hard! can't i just apply thorough clearing and cut out the embarrassment/pain of saying why i love physics so bad i could almost marry it?

You still need a PS even if you apply through Clearing

Reply 30

Gooner

14

mateyface

No that's EXACTLY how i meant it! :biggrin:

#zomg#!

Reply 31

kellywood_5

17

The examples you quoted sounded pretty rubbish to me, and to be honest, most of the examples available on the Internet are, at least from what I've seen. You don't have to be cheesey and talk about what you did from a young age, how your subject can help you save the world, use quotes or anything like that, but you need to make the admissions tutor aware that you're passionate about your subject and explain why.

Reply 32

tiger_vio

11

Oh dear lord.
Those statements you quoted were oozing with cheddar :s-smilie:

*cringes*

I'm also guilty of the 'from an early age' line, but it doesn't sound that bad because it's very realistic; Im applying for psychology and I said that from an early age I have been fascinated by the development of characters/personalities in both real life and... wait for it, reality tv! :p:

I can see some wise old man sat in an office at a University, reading 'reality tv' and rejecting me straight off! But i'm only being honest.. I love Big brother on the couch :biggrin:

Reply 33

freetofly

1

tiger_vio

Oh dear lord.
Those statements you quoted were oozing with cheddar :s-smilie:

*cringes*

I'm also guilty of the 'from an early age' line, but it doesn't sound that bad because it's very realistic; Im applying for psychology and I said that from an early age I have been fascinated by the development of characters/personalities in both real life and... wait for it, reality tv! :p:

I can see some wise old man sat in an office at a University, reading 'reality tv' and rejecting me straight off! But i'm only being honest.. I love Big brother on the couch :biggrin:

Sounds a lot like my statement! I mention Big Brother by name...I do beg them to not cast me aside because I like it, and proceed to justify myself, so maybe I'm OK mentioning it.

Or maybe BB will be the downfall of my uni aspirations.

Reply 34

pj1623

4

what do you guys think about bringing up my interest of a subject by mentioning a news/incident that happened around me?? im not sure if it's ok to do it for UCAS PS, but i know its quite typical for US college essays, i just do it that way coz i think it really shows how my interest is stimulated by those kind of incidents. while i think its quite cool, my friends all ask me to be realistic and write a straight-forward personal statement.......pretty upsetting!!

Reply 35

Juno

20

pj1623

what do you guys think about bringing up my interest of a subject by mentioning a news/incident that happened around me?? im not sure if it's ok to do it for UCAS PS, but i know its quite typical for US college essays, i just do it that way coz i think it really shows how my interest is stimulated by those kind of incidents. while i think its quite cool, my friends all ask me to be realistic and write a straight-forward personal statement.......pretty upsetting!!

It's a good way to start off, but don't go into too much detail. And it would be the perfect opportunity to say how it inspired you to learn about the subject, and maybe mention your extra reading :smile:

Reply 36

huhu

OP

Thank you for your answers... I feel like I have a much more vivid image of what my ps should look like by now. Obviously, you can receive a deeply odd impression of what british students are like when you only read their alleged PS on the internet *gg*

By the way... how far into detail may I go about my subject? Through attending a technical institute here in Austria, I supposedly have quite a lot of experience with my subject. Some people who are applying for engineering with three science A-Levels obviously never had much contact with the subject - which is completely okay, btw - and therefore can randomly pick a field which they like most. "The Structures and Materials of Bridges impress me... bla bla"
Having a more specific knowledge of engineering, I could write something like "The theory and application of material examination, especially the beam impact test and the hardness test according to brinell, are very interesting to me."
I could explain those two test and everything, but I am afraid it sounds a little showy... does it? What do you think?

Or, for economics..."I am interested in macroeconimics." or "I am interested in the concepts of marginal rates, especially their part in the identification of the maximum-profit output for monopolists." (The vocab I used may not really exist in english language *GG*)

Reply 37

WokSz

17

I think 'different' is a better word than 'weird.'

Reply 38

alex_hk90

19

huhu

I could explain those two test and everything, but I am afraid it sounds a little showy... does it? What do you think?

I think it sounds fine. It shows you have some specific interests in the subject.

huhu

Or, for economics..."I am interested in macroeconimics." or "I am interested in the concepts of marginal rates, especially their part in the identification of the maximum-profit output for monopolists." (The vocab I used may not really exist in english language *GG*)

Again, sounds fine. But the MR=MC profit-maximisation condition is a bit of a simple concept to mention. I can't see how you could develop any specific interest in that. :smile:

Reply 39

huhu

OP

alex_hk90

Again, sounds find. But the MR=MC profit-maximisation condition is a bit of a simple concept to mention. I can't see how you could develop any specific interest in that. :smile:

To be honest, I didn't. That was just an example (I'm not really involved in specific economic vocabulary... so I took an example I would know the words for *GG*)
I'm not even interested in material testing, it bores the hell out of me :biggrin:

Anyway, thanks for your answer. I guess it will be easier to talk about interests if they are stated specifically.

Do Personal Statements Have To Sound weird?

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