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People who 'read' for their personal statement

Who else gets annoyed by people who love to mention these books in their personal statement which they've apparently 'read' -_________-

I MEAN THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T ACTUALLY READ THEM AND JUST LIST BOOKS WHICH THEY FIND ONLINE! :colondollar:
(edited 7 years ago)

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I don't, because I am one.
If they've actually read some of it, that's fine I guess.
It depends on whether or not they've actually read the books, i read loads so put a few of the most influential books for me in my personal statement but people who pretend or lie about it annoy me.

But really i don't see anything wrong with it, if someone's interested in something and wants to learn more about it then that's up to them and if they want to put it in their personal statement then i see nothing wrong with it because it's just showing that they really are interested and passionate about their subject.
I don't mind it. I did it, but I read the books from cover to cover because I wouldn't dare put something on that I hadn't read - it's just wrong because you're cheating yourself and the people who are reading your statement. It really annoys me when people put down books that they haven't even started reading on their statement.
Original post by Studious.Student
If they've actually read some of it, that's fine I guess.


Original post by butterfly_belle
It depends on whether or not they've actually read the books, i read loads so put a few of the most influential books for me in my personal statement but people who pretend or lie about it annoy me.

But really i don't see anything wrong with it, if someone's interested in something and wants to learn more about it then that's up to them and if they want to put it in their personal statement then i see nothing wrong with it because it's just showing that they really are interested and passionate about their subject.


Yea that's fine of course! But I mean people who say e.g. I've read the Wealth of Nations to develop my knowledge of blah blah in Economics,, believable?? Keeping in mind the student is nothing special lol. Like people who don't even read the book, just look online for books to mention in their p.s. :s-smilie:
Original post by azizadil1998
Yea that's fine of course! But I mean people who say e.g. I've read the Wealth of Nations to develop my knowledge of blah blah in Economics,, believable?? Keeping in mind the student is nothing special lol. Like people who don't even read the book, just look online for books to mention in their p.s. :s-smilie:


Yeah, I agree. You should be able to show your true interest by actually reading the book.
Reply 7
Avatar for Senxpen
Senxpen
9
I didn't mention any books I read in my personal statement but I don't understand the issue if someone does. I realise it can come across false in some cases but let them be loool
Original post by azizadil1998
Yea that's fine of course! But I mean people who say e.g. I've read the Wealth of Nations to develop my knowledge of blah blah in Economics,, believable?? Keeping in mind the student is nothing special lol. Like people who don't even read the book, just look online for books to mention in their p.s. :s-smilie:


ROFL reading a section of that book is hard let alone reading the entire book... ffs at least make it believable

(I did find a few sections of that book that I did read pretty interesting tho specifically the chapter about colonies)

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Reply 9
Avatar for Asolare
Asolare
20
I mentioned books I read and I did read them and found all three useful in some way, so :tongue:
Original post by Inexorably
I mentioned books I read and I did read them and found all three useful in some way, so :tongue:


Same :tongue:

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Original post by Inexorably
I mentioned books I read and I did read them and found all three useful in some way, so :tongue:


Yeah i dont mean for people who have actually taken the time to read them!! ahah
Reply 12
Avatar for elen90
elen90
12
My tactical way of avoiding having to read the entirety of this War and Peace-esque epic novel was to say that 'attempting to read blah' was challenging because it had been translated back and forth dozens of times. Which is actually quite true.

As for the other books, I've read them all BUT am going to have to skimread them again to get the gist, because I have a terrible memory.
The universities that will actually read your PS are likely to interview you or simply have high enough entry standards that the people who get in actually did read the books they'd claim they read in their PS.
Original post by elen90
say that 'attempting to read blah'


I may or may not have written this in my PS...
Admissions staff are not interested in a reading list - they're interested in what the applicant found interesting about what they've read. It's better to talk enthusiastically about a blog post than list off a bunch of fusty old tomes.
"[The written word] will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls" - Socrates
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by azizadil1998
Who else gets annoyed by people who love to mention these books in their personal statement which they've apparently read and learned from -_________-


What if only a section of the book is relevant to your personal statement?


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Why does it concern you what other people write on their personal statements
Yeah, how dare anyone prepare for university.

Universities want applicants to talk about their academic interests in their PS, which includes books they've read (and what they thought about it) - that is the whole point of a PS.

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