Personal statement advice for maths
Hello, in reference to the personal statement, I was wondering what is good for maths personal statement, and how important things like competitions and more official things are, as I was concerned that, because I was going through some stuff at the time, I did iffy on my UKMT, and only got a bronze in my Y12 one.
However, I also do as much as I can outside of school in terms of further reading, but I live in an area of low social mobility where there is no academic places where things like lectures occur, so I have turned to things like youtube videos to that end, but because I have not attended any official ones in person, will this affect me? I have listed what I have done so far and what I intend to do, in order to assess whether if I have enough to show that I am a good candidate:
- Taking part in COMPOS, an oxford run maths and phyiscs online school + done a few AMSP online things
- Taken part in competitions - The two main ones being UKMT, which as mentioned prior went iffy, and Ritangle, which I did get to the final question which was good
- I have an EDT residential in Lancaster for maths in the summer holidays
- I have written up a few papers such as for complex analysis learnt latex to write my own interpretation of the Goldbach conjecture (Mainly exploring ways to model the problem, it was not overtly complex but it was fun)
- I want to teach myself discrete maths + further stats because it looks cool and I do not do it for my FM modules
- I have some open university books on complex analysis I have been reading
- It is from when I was back at high school, so I'm not sure if this would even be relevant, but I did this online math thing called Hegarty Maths, basically this online site thing with a huge amount of questions which I think only around 100 people in England have 100% completed, but it was GCSE so I do not know how much of an impact it would make/if I should even consider it at all
- Read a couple books on the history of maths like Fermat's last theorem
- Looked at some old timey textbooks like a course in pure mathematics, also looked at this Andrew Bak book for complex analysis which was really cool
These are kind of the main things I have done/want to do, of course plus STEP prep stuff which I see a lot, but I am stressing out because I am worried, because I have generally been super busy recently so have not had lots of time for extra things because I need to even afford uni, so I need to get on top of revision, so I will have even less time for super curricular stuff, and as that these things do not show I have done anything official I am really worried, because I have wanted to go to Cambridge to get really good at maths for as long as I can remember but now I am super concerned I might not even make it be offered an interview, does anybody know if I have done enough and what I could also do if not? Because I have read some other personal statements and they all just have so much more and I am really freaking out. My apologies as I know there is a PS form, but I want to make sure I focus into Cambridge in particular to make sure I maximise my knowledge.
However, I also do as much as I can outside of school in terms of further reading, but I live in an area of low social mobility where there is no academic places where things like lectures occur, so I have turned to things like youtube videos to that end, but because I have not attended any official ones in person, will this affect me? I have listed what I have done so far and what I intend to do, in order to assess whether if I have enough to show that I am a good candidate:
- Taking part in COMPOS, an oxford run maths and phyiscs online school + done a few AMSP online things
- Taken part in competitions - The two main ones being UKMT, which as mentioned prior went iffy, and Ritangle, which I did get to the final question which was good
- I have an EDT residential in Lancaster for maths in the summer holidays
- I have written up a few papers such as for complex analysis learnt latex to write my own interpretation of the Goldbach conjecture (Mainly exploring ways to model the problem, it was not overtly complex but it was fun)
- I want to teach myself discrete maths + further stats because it looks cool and I do not do it for my FM modules
- I have some open university books on complex analysis I have been reading
- It is from when I was back at high school, so I'm not sure if this would even be relevant, but I did this online math thing called Hegarty Maths, basically this online site thing with a huge amount of questions which I think only around 100 people in England have 100% completed, but it was GCSE so I do not know how much of an impact it would make/if I should even consider it at all
- Read a couple books on the history of maths like Fermat's last theorem
- Looked at some old timey textbooks like a course in pure mathematics, also looked at this Andrew Bak book for complex analysis which was really cool
These are kind of the main things I have done/want to do, of course plus STEP prep stuff which I see a lot, but I am stressing out because I am worried, because I have generally been super busy recently so have not had lots of time for extra things because I need to even afford uni, so I need to get on top of revision, so I will have even less time for super curricular stuff, and as that these things do not show I have done anything official I am really worried, because I have wanted to go to Cambridge to get really good at maths for as long as I can remember but now I am super concerned I might not even make it be offered an interview, does anybody know if I have done enough and what I could also do if not? Because I have read some other personal statements and they all just have so much more and I am really freaking out. My apologies as I know there is a PS form, but I want to make sure I focus into Cambridge in particular to make sure I maximise my knowledge.
Hi!
Don't worry, I was in your situation last year with trying to organise a personal statement whilst juggling revision and Cambridge uni admission prep. I know it can get quite hectic.
Your list looks very good. What you have done shows that you have a great interest in your subject and great self-regulation.
I'm also from an area of low social-mobility and there's nothing happening over here so it was really hard to get myself into work experience/extra curricular activies. I would advise that, when I was writing my personal statement, I had the impression that college I applied to at Cambridge was appreciative that not everyone has access to these types of extra/super curriculars (I can't be sure your college will be these same, but worth mentioning).
I remembered feeling so overwhelmed because all of the personal statements I had read online were so full of experience that I couldn't get my hands on and I felt that mine was so insignificant but remember that the universities will be looking for your approach and attitude towards pursuing your interests outside of school, which you have demonstrated so well. Remember that if everyone mentioned they sat a lecture then it might not be so attention-grabbing for the people who read the personal statements. If you can talk about the subjects in your list with passion and explain how the experience helped/excited you and what it inspired you to do after, that is going to be really effective.
Don't worry, I was in your situation last year with trying to organise a personal statement whilst juggling revision and Cambridge uni admission prep. I know it can get quite hectic.
Your list looks very good. What you have done shows that you have a great interest in your subject and great self-regulation.
I'm also from an area of low social-mobility and there's nothing happening over here so it was really hard to get myself into work experience/extra curricular activies. I would advise that, when I was writing my personal statement, I had the impression that college I applied to at Cambridge was appreciative that not everyone has access to these types of extra/super curriculars (I can't be sure your college will be these same, but worth mentioning).
I remembered feeling so overwhelmed because all of the personal statements I had read online were so full of experience that I couldn't get my hands on and I felt that mine was so insignificant but remember that the universities will be looking for your approach and attitude towards pursuing your interests outside of school, which you have demonstrated so well. Remember that if everyone mentioned they sat a lecture then it might not be so attention-grabbing for the people who read the personal statements. If you can talk about the subjects in your list with passion and explain how the experience helped/excited you and what it inspired you to do after, that is going to be really effective.
Original post by Anonymous
Hello, in reference to the personal statement, I was wondering what is good for maths personal statement, and how important things like competitions and more official things are, as I was concerned that, because I was going through some stuff at the time, I did iffy on my UKMT, and only got a bronze in my Y12 one.
However, I also do as much as I can outside of school in terms of further reading, but I live in an area of low social mobility where there is no academic places where things like lectures occur, so I have turned to things like youtube videos to that end, but because I have not attended any official ones in person, will this affect me? I have listed what I have done so far and what I intend to do, in order to assess whether if I have enough to show that I am a good candidate:
- Taking part in COMPOS, an oxford run maths and phyiscs online school + done a few AMSP online things
- Taken part in competitions - The two main ones being UKMT, which as mentioned prior went iffy, and Ritangle, which I did get to the final question which was good
- I have an EDT residential in Lancaster for maths in the summer holidays
- I have written up a few papers such as for complex analysis learnt latex to write my own interpretation of the Goldbach conjecture (Mainly exploring ways to model the problem, it was not overtly complex but it was fun)
- I want to teach myself discrete maths + further stats because it looks cool and I do not do it for my FM modules
- I have some open university books on complex analysis I have been reading
- It is from when I was back at high school, so I'm not sure if this would even be relevant, but I did this online math thing called Hegarty Maths, basically this online site thing with a huge amount of questions which I think only around 100 people in England have 100% completed, but it was GCSE so I do not know how much of an impact it would make/if I should even consider it at all
- Read a couple books on the history of maths like Fermat's last theorem
- Looked at some old timey textbooks like a course in pure mathematics, also looked at this Andrew Bak book for complex analysis which was really cool
These are kind of the main things I have done/want to do, of course plus STEP prep stuff which I see a lot, but I am stressing out because I am worried, because I have generally been super busy recently so have not had lots of time for extra things because I need to even afford uni, so I need to get on top of revision, so I will have even less time for super curricular stuff, and as that these things do not show I have done anything official I am really worried, because I have wanted to go to Cambridge to get really good at maths for as long as I can remember but now I am super concerned I might not even make it be offered an interview, does anybody know if I have done enough and what I could also do if not? Because I have read some other personal statements and they all just have so much more and I am really freaking out. My apologies as I know there is a PS form, but I want to make sure I focus into Cambridge in particular to make sure I maximise my knowledge.
However, I also do as much as I can outside of school in terms of further reading, but I live in an area of low social mobility where there is no academic places where things like lectures occur, so I have turned to things like youtube videos to that end, but because I have not attended any official ones in person, will this affect me? I have listed what I have done so far and what I intend to do, in order to assess whether if I have enough to show that I am a good candidate:
- Taking part in COMPOS, an oxford run maths and phyiscs online school + done a few AMSP online things
- Taken part in competitions - The two main ones being UKMT, which as mentioned prior went iffy, and Ritangle, which I did get to the final question which was good
- I have an EDT residential in Lancaster for maths in the summer holidays
- I have written up a few papers such as for complex analysis learnt latex to write my own interpretation of the Goldbach conjecture (Mainly exploring ways to model the problem, it was not overtly complex but it was fun)
- I want to teach myself discrete maths + further stats because it looks cool and I do not do it for my FM modules
- I have some open university books on complex analysis I have been reading
- It is from when I was back at high school, so I'm not sure if this would even be relevant, but I did this online math thing called Hegarty Maths, basically this online site thing with a huge amount of questions which I think only around 100 people in England have 100% completed, but it was GCSE so I do not know how much of an impact it would make/if I should even consider it at all
- Read a couple books on the history of maths like Fermat's last theorem
- Looked at some old timey textbooks like a course in pure mathematics, also looked at this Andrew Bak book for complex analysis which was really cool
These are kind of the main things I have done/want to do, of course plus STEP prep stuff which I see a lot, but I am stressing out because I am worried, because I have generally been super busy recently so have not had lots of time for extra things because I need to even afford uni, so I need to get on top of revision, so I will have even less time for super curricular stuff, and as that these things do not show I have done anything official I am really worried, because I have wanted to go to Cambridge to get really good at maths for as long as I can remember but now I am super concerned I might not even make it be offered an interview, does anybody know if I have done enough and what I could also do if not? Because I have read some other personal statements and they all just have so much more and I am really freaking out. My apologies as I know there is a PS form, but I want to make sure I focus into Cambridge in particular to make sure I maximise my knowledge.
Forget Hegarty Maths as that won't help - your referee can flag up the lack of opportunities locally.
You could look at NRICH and submit solutions, maybe borrow some UKMT books and problems [online database here: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/worksheets.php?wdid=44]
Look in your local library/school library for Rob Eastaway books things like Why do buses come in threes? are fun and a bit different.
Have you started STEP prep?
Original post by Anonymous
Hello, in reference to the personal statement, I was wondering what is good for maths personal statement, and how important things like competitions and more official things are, as I was concerned that, because I was going through some stuff at the time, I did iffy on my UKMT, and only got a bronze in my Y12 one.
However, I also do as much as I can outside of school in terms of further reading, but I live in an area of low social mobility where there is no academic places where things like lectures occur, so I have turned to things like youtube videos to that end, but because I have not attended any official ones in person, will this affect me? I have listed what I have done so far and what I intend to do, in order to assess whether if I have enough to show that I am a good candidate:
- Taking part in COMPOS, an oxford run maths and phyiscs online school + done a few AMSP online things
- Taken part in competitions - The two main ones being UKMT, which as mentioned prior went iffy, and Ritangle, which I did get to the final question which was good
- I have an EDT residential in Lancaster for maths in the summer holidays
- I have written up a few papers such as for complex analysis learnt latex to write my own interpretation of the Goldbach conjecture (Mainly exploring ways to model the problem, it was not overtly complex but it was fun)
- I want to teach myself discrete maths + further stats because it looks cool and I do not do it for my FM modules
- I have some open university books on complex analysis I have been reading
- It is from when I was back at high school, so I'm not sure if this would even be relevant, but I did this online math thing called Hegarty Maths, basically this online site thing with a huge amount of questions which I think only around 100 people in England have 100% completed, but it was GCSE so I do not know how much of an impact it would make/if I should even consider it at all
- Read a couple books on the history of maths like Fermat's last theorem
- Looked at some old timey textbooks like a course in pure mathematics, also looked at this Andrew Bak book for complex analysis which was really cool
These are kind of the main things I have done/want to do, of course plus STEP prep stuff which I see a lot, but I am stressing out because I am worried, because I have generally been super busy recently so have not had lots of time for extra things because I need to even afford uni, so I need to get on top of revision, so I will have even less time for super curricular stuff, and as that these things do not show I have done anything official I am really worried, because I have wanted to go to Cambridge to get really good at maths for as long as I can remember but now I am super concerned I might not even make it be offered an interview, does anybody know if I have done enough and what I could also do if not? Because I have read some other personal statements and they all just have so much more and I am really freaking out. My apologies as I know there is a PS form, but I want to make sure I focus into Cambridge in particular to make sure I maximise my knowledge.
However, I also do as much as I can outside of school in terms of further reading, but I live in an area of low social mobility where there is no academic places where things like lectures occur, so I have turned to things like youtube videos to that end, but because I have not attended any official ones in person, will this affect me? I have listed what I have done so far and what I intend to do, in order to assess whether if I have enough to show that I am a good candidate:
- Taking part in COMPOS, an oxford run maths and phyiscs online school + done a few AMSP online things
- Taken part in competitions - The two main ones being UKMT, which as mentioned prior went iffy, and Ritangle, which I did get to the final question which was good
- I have an EDT residential in Lancaster for maths in the summer holidays
- I have written up a few papers such as for complex analysis learnt latex to write my own interpretation of the Goldbach conjecture (Mainly exploring ways to model the problem, it was not overtly complex but it was fun)
- I want to teach myself discrete maths + further stats because it looks cool and I do not do it for my FM modules
- I have some open university books on complex analysis I have been reading
- It is from when I was back at high school, so I'm not sure if this would even be relevant, but I did this online math thing called Hegarty Maths, basically this online site thing with a huge amount of questions which I think only around 100 people in England have 100% completed, but it was GCSE so I do not know how much of an impact it would make/if I should even consider it at all
- Read a couple books on the history of maths like Fermat's last theorem
- Looked at some old timey textbooks like a course in pure mathematics, also looked at this Andrew Bak book for complex analysis which was really cool
These are kind of the main things I have done/want to do, of course plus STEP prep stuff which I see a lot, but I am stressing out because I am worried, because I have generally been super busy recently so have not had lots of time for extra things because I need to even afford uni, so I need to get on top of revision, so I will have even less time for super curricular stuff, and as that these things do not show I have done anything official I am really worried, because I have wanted to go to Cambridge to get really good at maths for as long as I can remember but now I am super concerned I might not even make it be offered an interview, does anybody know if I have done enough and what I could also do if not? Because I have read some other personal statements and they all just have so much more and I am really freaking out. My apologies as I know there is a PS form, but I want to make sure I focus into Cambridge in particular to make sure I maximise my knowledge.
Hi,
Regarding the Personal Statement, you have a lot of material to hand here that indicates a dedication to your studies, passion for the subject, and the self-initiative to take ownership of your learning. I would say it is worth focusing on specific 'chains of evidence' that indicate how you have developed particular interests in the field of Mathematics, undertaken activities outside of the expectations of your current level of studies (awards and competitions are great), and show how you wish to use your degree to further existing or possible interests in the future. For example, after the residential you attend in the summer, you may encounter topics or ideas that you wish to explore further and that could be something good to put down on your Personal Statement. It's from another Faculty at my University, but this video might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbayCuX55I0
I'd like to take this as an opportunity to inform you of the Widening Participation (WP) work Lancaster University does for prospective students since you mentioned you are planning to do an EDT in the summer in the city. WP is a sector that aims to create a more open and inclusive environment for students in Higher Education and a lot of support mechanisms exist to help prospective students. One of those involves Contextual Offer Schemes, for which students do not need to produce an additional application, that accounts for backgrounds of low social mobility like you mention. Another of those is the Lancaster Access Programme. The LAP is for both Y12 and Y13 students that meet the WP criteria of the University; if you are really interested in coming to the University, it's worth considering taking on the programme for next academic year as it allows for access to staff and resources that you might be looking for and a lowered offer for admission to Lancaster. Also do remember that the work you are doing outside of your degree, in terms of transferable skills of time management and organization, are also things Universities look out for and recognize when accepting students. If you would like any more information or have any questions about WP, do get in touch with the University through the following email: [email protected].
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