personal statement hmm..

Person 1- so, I've been given the task to write my personal statement for university and I don't know what to write.

Person 2- wow, that's what they all say huh.

Person 1- well....

I mean, I know about the personal statement builder and you basically have to pick a course and say why you want to study it and talk about skills/qualities etc. but 1) I don't know what course I want to pick (that's a me problem) so I'm thinking of writing a sort of rough, vague one as a draft.....but basically, do I just have to sell myself? I don't want to sound too overconfident and fake, how do I keep it real and make it interesting enough to be considered? How do I make mines unique when I keep seeing people post theirs online. I don't want to copy anyone, I want it to be different- how?

Thanks if you read my long message :smile:

Reply 1

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Your PS isn’t about selling yourself.

It’s about your genuine interest in your chosen degree.

So if you’re undecided on a degree then you really need to narrow that down first.

Sometimes writing a PS (or bullet points) for a range of subjects and courses is a good way to work out what subject you want to study. Sometimes the enthusiasm and academic interests just flow better for one subject than for others

Reply 2

tryingmybest22

Original post by PQ

Thanks for replying. I probably should've worded it in a better way. It's more about how passionate you are about the degree and also what makes you stand out from the crowd? (what I meant when I said selling myself, because I thought it was about why they should accept you, when there's thousands of other applicants)
or is it more what you bring with you to the degree? sorry I'm new here and don't really know much about this. 🙏🏻

What would you suggest if a person hasn't done well in a subject that they've done but still wants to do something in a career related to it? (I'm in my last year of secondary school now) Is it worth redoing the subject and trying trying get an A? Will this make the overall application look better or are there times when an exceptionally good personal statement might let you in if you have 1 slightly bad grade? Sorry, this is probably more to do with decisions made by unis and actually choosing a course (I am aware that most courses also have specific entry requirements) but is there a way to still get into a course with maybe one slightly bad grade once they look at your whole application and see your personal statement? It's because I am genuinely enthusiastic in a subject and was doing well all year in it- until the exam. I have my last year of school to repeat it, but I'm wondering whether there's any point, what if I do badly again? Should I go with the safe option and study the subjects I did well in, even though they may not be my top favourites?

This may or may not make sense. Thank you for your patience (and I'll use your advice about the bullet points- thanks again!)