The Student Room Group

Major personal statement mistake -- economics degree

I just submitted my personal statement to UCAS to Cambridge, Warwick and UCL. Proof reading it a million times as well as giving it to my teachers to proof read, I didn't realise this major mistake. I can say my personal statement is of a high standard but this one sentence has the potential to ruin my entire application. 3 A* predictions as well as an A* in EPQ prediction but I wrote 'I was introduced to conflicting ideas between Keynes’ interventionist view contrary to Hayek’s free market socialist approach' rather than 'Hayek's free market approach to socialism'. Now I have no idea what to do because I feel like ive ruined my chances despite my other parts of the application just by one simple miscommunication. Not even my economics teacher noticed or anyone else I've gotten to read it with economic knowledge. I did not expand on that sentence whatsoever and just left it like that and moved on. is there anything I can do?
Reply 1
Original post by janetjay
I just submitted my personal statement to UCAS to Cambridge, Warwick and UCL. Proof reading it a million times as well as giving it to my teachers to proof read, I didn't realise this major mistake. I can say my personal statement is of a high standard but this one sentence has the potential to ruin my entire application. 3 A* predictions as well as an A* in EPQ prediction but I wrote 'I was introduced to conflicting ideas between Keynes’ interventionist view contrary to Hayek’s free market socialist approach' rather than 'Hayek's free market approach to socialism'. Now I have no idea what to do because I feel like ive ruined my chances despite my other parts of the application just by one simple miscommunication. Not even my economics teacher noticed or anyone else I've gotten to read it with economic knowledge. I did not expand on that sentence whatsoever and just left it like that and moved on. is there anything I can do?

Don’t stress ! it’s one sentence out of an entire application that includes predicted grades, references, the whole rest of ur personal statement ... this one error won’t jeopardise your chances of getting in. best thing to advise if talk to your school - even though you’ve submitted your application your school still need to review it and add your references before ucas actually sends it off to your uni so if you contact your school asap they should still be able to change it

i’m also applying for econ to cam and warwick so lmk if you end up getting offers from there :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by 123smoo
Don’t stress ! it’s one sentence out of an entire application that includes predicted grades, references, the whole rest of ur personal statement ... this one error won’t jeopardise your chances of getting in. best thing to advise if talk to your school - even though you’ve submitted your application your school still need to review it and add your references before ucas actually sends it off to your uni so if you contact your school asap they should still be able to change it

i’m also applying for econ to cam and warwick so lmk if you end up getting offers from there :smile:

worst part is my advisor already approved it. so annoying that neither I nor my teachers could pick out this error but we gotta wait and see!
Original post by janetjay
worst part is my advisor already approved it. so annoying that neither I nor my teachers could pick out this error but we gotta wait and see!

If you didn’t see it then it’s unlikely that anyone else will.
Don’t worry about it. If there is an admissions test, that will be more important. Concentrate on that, and razzle dazzle them at interview. Plenty of people make mistakes on their personal statements. What with personal statements, the tests and interviews, this is the season for Oxbridge overthinking.
Don't panic, It a minor mistake and it probably wont even be noticed. Most Admissions staff speed-read PS and often just look for main points. Many 'other' Unis dont read PS a all anymore so it wont figure in their decision.
Reply 6
i’d just double check that they haven’t officially sent it off yet becos even tho my applications been approved etc they still haven’t hit the dial send button. but yeah it’s not the end of the world it’s one sentence out of your whole application :smile:
Original post by janetjay
worst part is my advisor already approved it. so annoying that neither I nor my teachers could pick out this error but we gotta wait and see!
don't worry the sentence still makes sense.

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