Writing a personal statement for a sixth form college application may feel daunting at first, but you'll easily nail it if you follow these steps
Most sixth form and college application forms include a section where you write something about yourself. It could just be a few lines or, more scarily, a large empty space with no word limit.
This is often the first time you’ve ever been asked to ‘sell’ yourself so it can seem a bit scary.
But don’t worry – it’s the same for everyone applying and in most cases it’s just information so the college can get to know you a little before you start.
So what should you include?
It’s really not too difficult to work out. Follow these simple tips and everything should be fine.
Do your research
You’ll almost certainly need to explain why you want to attend that college.
Find out about the college’s facilities and courses. Think about why you want to attend. Is it the courses it offers? Does it have a great reputation for sport or drama? Maybe it has an excellent academic reputation and strong exam results.
It makes sense to go on an open day for the college, if you can. Take a look at our article on making the most of a sixth form open evening.
Think about life after college
Most college application forms will ask something about your career or uni intentions.
You may know exactly want you want to do after college – if so, fine. But you may have no idea of your uni or career path, just a broad sense of the subjects you really like and others you don’t get on with at all. This is probably all you need at this point.
If you do have a clear idea of your future, now is a great time to check whether or not your ambitions are still relevant, realistic and achievable.
Apprenticeships information and advice
Do exactly what the form asks
Read the wording carefully. What exactly does it ask you to do? Is there guidance on what information to include? Is there a word limit?
Make sure everything is done exactly as requested.
Don't feel you have to include loads of detail
No one expects you to have travelled the world, done masses of voluntary work and excelled at football, ballet and chess. But if you do participate in any organisations or sports it’s worth mentioning.
Check spelling and grammar
This is not a good place to make these kinds of errors. Although the college is likely to be forgiving it’s better to read your form through a few times for errors (they’re so easy to make). If spelling and grammar aren’t your strong points, maybe get someone else to check for you?
Examples of sixth form personal statements
Every application form is different but we thought it would be helpful to see a few examples of sixth form personal statements. These have not been chosen because of their brilliance – they’re just useful in providing some ideas about what you might include.
Ask a question about your sixth form personal statement
You can ask questions in our dedicated thread for sixth form personal statements.
Ask a question about A-levels or GCSEs
Ask your question on The Student Room – there’s thousands of students just like you. You can ask questions about A-levels here. And if you have GCSE questions then this is where you should head.
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