Personal Statement Help?
Hey guys 
Currently, I am writing my personal statement and have been advised to include my school contribution where, I was a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant and a Prefect. However, I am unsure of where to put this in the structure of my personal statement.
I was considering placing it in my volunteering section however, with the added bulk of this my volunteering section is going to be quite a lengthy section and I am not sure as to whether this would look very good ?
Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated
Currently, I am writing my personal statement and have been advised to include my school contribution where, I was a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant and a Prefect. However, I am unsure of where to put this in the structure of my personal statement.
I was considering placing it in my volunteering section however, with the added bulk of this my volunteering section is going to be quite a lengthy section and I am not sure as to whether this would look very good ?
Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated
Original post by LouieSax
Hey guys
Currently, I am writing my personal statement and have been advised to include my school contribution where, I was a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant and a Prefect. However, I am unsure of where to put this in the structure of my personal statement.
I was considering placing it in my volunteering section however, with the added bulk of this my volunteering section is going to be quite a lengthy section and I am not sure as to whether this would look very good ?
Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated
Currently, I am writing my personal statement and have been advised to include my school contribution where, I was a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant and a Prefect. However, I am unsure of where to put this in the structure of my personal statement.
I was considering placing it in my volunteering section however, with the added bulk of this my volunteering section is going to be quite a lengthy section and I am not sure as to whether this would look very good ?
Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated
hey,
my advice would be to include it for now, and try and talk about the skills you have learnt from being a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant (it's a good thing to have on a PS!) which make you suitable for your degree (communication skills etc), and then take your PS to a teacher or someone, and with their help you can pick and choose what to get rid of if it is too lengthy. I wouldn't add in the bit about being a Prefect mainly because literally everyone mentions they are a prefect, and the skills you learn from being a prefect will be similar to a Special Needs Assistant anyway
Original post by Fas
hey,
my advice would be to include it for now, and try and talk about the skills you have learnt from being a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant (it's a good thing to have on a PS!) which make you suitable for your degree (communication skills etc), and then take your PS to a teacher or someone, and with their help you can pick and choose what to get rid of if it is too lengthy. I wouldn't add in the bit about being a Prefect mainly because literally everyone mentions they are a prefect, and the skills you learn from being a prefect will be similar to a Special Needs Assistant anyway
my advice would be to include it for now, and try and talk about the skills you have learnt from being a Voluntary Special Needs Assistant (it's a good thing to have on a PS!) which make you suitable for your degree (communication skills etc), and then take your PS to a teacher or someone, and with their help you can pick and choose what to get rid of if it is too lengthy. I wouldn't add in the bit about being a Prefect mainly because literally everyone mentions they are a prefect, and the skills you learn from being a prefect will be similar to a Special Needs Assistant anyway
Sorry I should have reworded it better (haha in a bit of rush writing this thread) I was wondering where in my personal statement would you recommend I place it in my personal statement as in which section. My lecturer advised me to include my school and college contribution in my personal statement however, I'm not sure which section of my personal statement I should put it in.
I was thinking of putting it in the voluntary section however, I think with the added bulk my volunteering section is going to be the biggest section! Would this be OK? I am applying for a vocational subject?
What subject are you applying for, and how relevant to that subject is it that you held these roles?
I'm assuming you're applying for a vocational degree of some kind if you're including a lot of volunteering. However, you need to think about how the roles you're including actually show the skills/link back to the degree you're applying for. Being a special needs assistant may be relevant if you're applying for a degree like medicine or nursing, depending on the duties you had and the skills you used.
In my experience, very few universities are very interested in the fact you've been a prefect, as in a lot of schools, this can be an honorary title, with little in the way of actual duties, so mentioning will usually add little to your PS. It's very likely that any skills you did gain from being a prefect (e.g. leadership, communication) can be shown through other, more relevant volunteering, leaving space in your PS for you to discuss other things. Lots of schools do try to sell the prefect role as being good for university applications, but often it won't really help you stand out, and the characters could be better used to discuss other things.
If you're not applying for a vocational degree, it's very likely that you've got too much on your volunteering. For academic degrees, the majority of your statement should be focused on your academic interest in the subject. Less than 25% of your statement should be used to discuss extra curricular activities that aren't directly relevant to your chosen subject. For this sort of degree, it may be best to chose 1 or 2 of the most relevant volunteering positions to discuss in more detail, rather than namedropping lots of different roles.
I'm assuming you're applying for a vocational degree of some kind if you're including a lot of volunteering. However, you need to think about how the roles you're including actually show the skills/link back to the degree you're applying for. Being a special needs assistant may be relevant if you're applying for a degree like medicine or nursing, depending on the duties you had and the skills you used.
In my experience, very few universities are very interested in the fact you've been a prefect, as in a lot of schools, this can be an honorary title, with little in the way of actual duties, so mentioning will usually add little to your PS. It's very likely that any skills you did gain from being a prefect (e.g. leadership, communication) can be shown through other, more relevant volunteering, leaving space in your PS for you to discuss other things. Lots of schools do try to sell the prefect role as being good for university applications, but often it won't really help you stand out, and the characters could be better used to discuss other things.
If you're not applying for a vocational degree, it's very likely that you've got too much on your volunteering. For academic degrees, the majority of your statement should be focused on your academic interest in the subject. Less than 25% of your statement should be used to discuss extra curricular activities that aren't directly relevant to your chosen subject. For this sort of degree, it may be best to chose 1 or 2 of the most relevant volunteering positions to discuss in more detail, rather than namedropping lots of different roles.
Original post by LouieSax
Sorry I should have reworded it better (haha in a bit of rush writing this thread) I was wondering where in my personal statement would you recommend I place it in my personal statement as in which section. My lecturer advised me to include my school and college contribution in my personal statement however, I'm not sure which section of my personal statement I should put it in.
I was thinking of putting it in the voluntary section however, I think with the added bulk my volunteering section is going to be the biggest section! Would this be OK? I am applying for a vocational subject?
I was thinking of putting it in the voluntary section however, I think with the added bulk my volunteering section is going to be the biggest section! Would this be OK? I am applying for a vocational subject?
Do remember that college lecturers don't always give the best advice and may not be up to date with the best way to write a personal statement. It's in no way essential to include a "school and college contribution" in your PS, and for the vast majority of subjects, this section would be skimmed over and a waste of characters.
You'll get the best advice if you're explicit about what subject you're applying for. Things that might be relevant to, for example, nursing, won't be so relevant to VetMed.
Original post by SlowlorisIncognito
What subject are you applying for, and how relevant to that subject is it that you held these roles?
I'm assuming you're applying for a vocational degree of some kind if you're including a lot of volunteering. However, you need to think about how the roles you're including actually show the skills/link back to the degree you're applying for. Being a special needs assistant may be relevant if you're applying for a degree like medicine or nursing, depending on the duties you had and the skills you used.
In my experience, very few universities are very interested in the fact you've been a prefect, as in a lot of schools, this can be an honorary title, with little in the way of actual duties, so mentioning will usually add little to your PS. It's very likely that any skills you did gain from being a prefect (e.g. leadership, communication) can be shown through other, more relevant volunteering, leaving space in your PS for you to discuss other things. Lots of schools do try to sell the prefect role as being good for university applications, but often it won't really help you stand out, and the characters could be better used to discuss other things.
If you're not applying for a vocational degree, it's very likely that you've got too much on your volunteering. For academic degrees, the majority of your statement should be focused on your academic interest in the subject. Less than 25% of your statement should be used to discuss extra curricular activities that aren't directly relevant to your chosen subject. For this sort of degree, it may be best to chose 1 or 2 of the most relevant volunteering positions to discuss in more detail, rather than namedropping lots of different roles.
I'm assuming you're applying for a vocational degree of some kind if you're including a lot of volunteering. However, you need to think about how the roles you're including actually show the skills/link back to the degree you're applying for. Being a special needs assistant may be relevant if you're applying for a degree like medicine or nursing, depending on the duties you had and the skills you used.
In my experience, very few universities are very interested in the fact you've been a prefect, as in a lot of schools, this can be an honorary title, with little in the way of actual duties, so mentioning will usually add little to your PS. It's very likely that any skills you did gain from being a prefect (e.g. leadership, communication) can be shown through other, more relevant volunteering, leaving space in your PS for you to discuss other things. Lots of schools do try to sell the prefect role as being good for university applications, but often it won't really help you stand out, and the characters could be better used to discuss other things.
If you're not applying for a vocational degree, it's very likely that you've got too much on your volunteering. For academic degrees, the majority of your statement should be focused on your academic interest in the subject. Less than 25% of your statement should be used to discuss extra curricular activities that aren't directly relevant to your chosen subject. For this sort of degree, it may be best to chose 1 or 2 of the most relevant volunteering positions to discuss in more detail, rather than namedropping lots of different roles.
I am applying for Occupational Therapy, a vocational course. What I want to know is, should I put my school contribution in my volunteering section of my personal statement or elsewhere in the personal statement because currently, I already have the possibility of two voluntary positions which I am considering talking about in my personal statement, so with the added bulk of my school contribution, I am worried that this section is going to be too long? :/
Original post by LouieSax
Sorry I should have reworded it better (haha in a bit of rush writing this thread) I was wondering where in my personal statement would you recommend I place it in my personal statement as in which section. My lecturer advised me to include my school and college contribution in my personal statement however, I'm not sure which section of my personal statement I should put it in.
I was thinking of putting it in the voluntary section however, I think with the added bulk my volunteering section is going to be the biggest section! Would this be OK? I am applying for a vocational subject?
I was thinking of putting it in the voluntary section however, I think with the added bulk my volunteering section is going to be the biggest section! Would this be OK? I am applying for a vocational subject?
ahh i see what you're asking! my bad haha. Erm depends a lot on what degree you're applying for, if it's a pretty academic degree like Maths/Economics/Geography then you really want your academic section to be your biggest (so things like A-levels and extra-curriculars DIRECTLY related to your chosen field) and your volunteering section therefore shouldn't be too big.
Original post by LouieSax
I am applying for Occupational Therapy, a vocational course. What I want to know is, should I put my school contribution in my volunteering section of my personal statement or elsewhere in the personal statement because currently, I already have the possibility of two voluntary positions which I am considering talking about in my personal statement, so with the added bulk of my school contribution, I am worried that this section is going to be too long? :/
If you include it, then it would probably go best between the volunteering you discuss, and any extra curricular activities you're mentioning. However, did you honestly gain anything from being a prefect which is especially relevant to occupational therapy? If the answer is no, then you shouldn't bother to include it in your PS beyond maybe a mention in your ECs.
Universities won't be expecting to see a specific "school contribution" section- don't forget lots of people don't even apply to university straight from school!
Original post by Fas
ahh i see what you're asking! my bad haha. Erm depends a lot on what degree you're applying for, if it's a pretty academic degree like Maths/Economics/Geography then you really want your academic section to be your biggest (so things like A-levels and extra-curriculars DIRECTLY related to your chosen field) and your volunteering section therefore shouldn't be too big.
I'm applying for Occupational Therapy which is a vocational degree so as a result my volunteering section has already got two volunteering positions, taking up a good couple of lines. So, should I or should I not include my school contribution in this section, my volunteering section or should I place it elsewhere in my personal statement.
If not in my voluntary section where should I put my school contribution? Which section of my personal statement?
Original post by SlowlorisIncognito
If you include it, then it would probably go best between the volunteering you discuss, and any extra curricular activities you're mentioning. However, did you honestly gain anything from being a prefect which is especially relevant to occupational therapy? If the answer is no, then you shouldn't bother to include it in your PS beyond maybe a mention in your ECs.
Universities won't be expecting to see a specific "school contribution" section- don't forget lots of people don't even apply to university straight from school!
Universities won't be expecting to see a specific "school contribution" section- don't forget lots of people don't even apply to university straight from school!
OK thank you. My lecturer told me that if I have any lines left over I should use it to include my school contribution because I have actually done quite a bit during school (inc. Prefect, Voluntary Special Needs Assistant, Librarian and being a class representative). Do you think its worth mentioning, if I have the lines left over?
Original post by LouieSax
OK thank you. My lecturer told me that if I have any lines left over I should use it to include my school contribution because I have actually done quite a bit during school (inc. Prefect, Voluntary Special Needs Assistant, Librarian and being a class representative). Do you think its worth mentioning, if I have the lines left over?
I think being a voluntary special needs assistant would be worth mentioning. I'm not so sure about the other roles. I would suggest if you have enough lines left over to include a whole paragraph discussing these roles in depth, you might not have spend enough time on other areas of the personal statement.
I think I remember you from another thread (or it might have been someone else applying for the same course) and I would suggest that you're getting some fairly dodgy advice from your school- do remember that some schools won't have much experience with people applying for vocational courses.
It might be worth having a look at the PS library on TSR and looking specifically at vocational statements, and seeing the sort of thing people include, to make sure you know the sort of content you should be focusing on.
Original post by SlowlorisIncognito
I think being a voluntary special needs assistant would be worth mentioning. I'm not so sure about the other roles. I would suggest if you have enough lines left over to include a whole paragraph discussing these roles in depth, you might not have spend enough time on other areas of the personal statement.
I think I remember you from another thread (or it might have been someone else applying for the same course) and I would suggest that you're getting some fairly dodgy advice from your school- do remember that some schools won't have much experience with people applying for vocational courses.
It might be worth having a look at the PS library on TSR and looking specifically at vocational statements, and seeing the sort of thing people include, to make sure you know the sort of content you should be focusing on.
I think I remember you from another thread (or it might have been someone else applying for the same course) and I would suggest that you're getting some fairly dodgy advice from your school- do remember that some schools won't have much experience with people applying for vocational courses.
It might be worth having a look at the PS library on TSR and looking specifically at vocational statements, and seeing the sort of thing people include, to make sure you know the sort of content you should be focusing on.
OK thank you so much, I really appreciate your help and your advice! Its a great help to me haha :L
Original post by LouieSax
OK thank you so much, I really appreciate your help and your advice! Its a great help to me haha :L
No worries, good luck with your PS.
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