Anyone else not entirely satisfied with their PS?

My ucas applcation is being sent off this week, and I'm finding it really hard to just let go of the personal statement; it's becoming something of an obsession.
I really wanted the PS to be winning and give me confidence about my application, and with these high expectations I unsurprisingly feel disappointed with what I've managed to produce, but I can't put my finger on what's wrong with it - I'm just not happy with it.
Has anyone else found this, and is feeling similarly frustrated? How important is the personal statement anyway? (Yes, I am seeking reassurance :smile:

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Reply 1

Swayum

Yeah, I wasn't satisfied with mine either. Having said that, I don't think it was bad or anything, I'm just never satisfied with stuff like this.

Reply 2

Kater Murr

Yep, completely dissatisified. But, oh well - it goes off tomorrow :frown:

Reply 3

The West Wing

I'm not very happy with mine either. I know I can convey myself better orally though, and I have been told repeatedly that Oxbridge don't put a great emphasis on what is an extremely limiting medium of communication (the PS).

Reply 4

scout5

yep, hated the last para but handed it in anyway. If you care this much it's probably good by now whether or not you can see that. I couldn't tell what was good or bad about mine by the time I handed it in, I was way too wrapped up in it to make any meaningful adjustments.

Reply 5

markdr

Galatea

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I know exactly how you're feeling, it's the same with me.
I'm sure your PS is fine, and by the way that you care about this so much, I'll bet it's better than most.
Just try to send it off and forget about it - that's what I've done.

Reply 6

fisherman

I reckon I overemphasised my competive nature. Oh well. I must get in. Failure is not an option.

Reply 7

calcium878

I dunno if mine was good, haven't seen many others to compare with.

Reply 8

username137462

Yea, I'm not completely happy with mine either, but oh well. ~sigh~. I've had enough of it, so it's gone.

Reply 9

alex_hk90

Galatea

Has anyone else found this, and is feeling similarly frustrated? How important is the personal statement anyway? (Yes, I am seeking reassurance :smile:

)

You only have to look at your amazing GCSE and AS results for reassurance. :smile:

I'm sure your PS is better than you think it is anyway.

Reply 10

arguendo

mm, not 100% happy with mine, but then i doubt i ever would be.

tbh i'm happy so long as it's not fatally flawed. and idk, i would hope one of the five or six people who've seen it would've told me if it was. it's not atrocious by any standard, so i guess it'll have to do.

Reply 11

Excalibur

The people I've shown it to (5-6 people) all said it was good so I think mine is as good as it can be - but that still doesn't stop me doubting! It's hard to judge what you've written yourself, particularly if you are a perfectionist. Considering how close it is to the deadline, if you think it probably can't get any better just let it go.

Reply 12

Franc Vouloir

Looks like I'm something of a dissenting voice here, but I was quite satisfied with mine. Perhaps that's just because I started it months ago and went through about 47 drafts.

Reply 13

Pikey

I was convinced mine was no good reading through it, and its still definitely not as good as I would have liked it to be. At the same time, when you're working on it for hours on end and constantly reading the same lines over and over, you lose the ability to judge it fairly. I left mine for a day, came back later afresh, re-read it, and was surprised at how much better it sounded. Best not to get overly stressed about it.

Reply 14

OxyMoron.

Mine is awful, to say the least.

Here's hoping the rest of my form will make up for it :wink:

Reply 15

Bumper

Oh we're all pessimistic aren't we! I don't quite like mine either, but I showed it to teachers and friends and they all agreed it was good. It can be really difficult to judge your own work objectively if you've spent lots of time writing it...

Also - do you really think Oxbridge put that much emphasis on the PS? Personal statements are not always the work of the applicant anymore. You can hire people to write you a "winning Oxbridge personal statement". They're important for creating a good first impression, but the interviews are perhaps better in the sense that they can meet you... live :smile:

Don't think we should dwell too much on the past though. What's been sent has been sent (simple logic, huh?). Now is the time to read. :p:

Reply 16

NickkO

I spent a couple of days constantly changing and changing it. If I'd be writing on paper I'd be the stereotypical person writing something and subsequently throwing it in the bin time after time. But my final version is ok. The day after I just tried to forget about it, ignore the urge to perfectionalize it again.

Reply 17

scout5

NickkO

The day after I just tried to forget about it, ignore the urge to perfectionalize it again.

I don't think perfectionalize is a word- but it should be!
I've just avoided looking at mine at all since it was sent off because I would hate to find mistakes.

Reply 18

sugar_cane

Mine isn't amazing, but it's okay.
I don't think anyone can be perfectly content with their PS, that's just they way it is.

Reply 19

Angelil

If I'm honest, you've probably looked at your PS so many times that it's starting to lose impact on you :p:

You're bound to view it differently, having read it so many times before, than an admissions tutor who's never read it before will. I'm sure all your PSs are fine :smile: