Application Surgeries - Need help with your Personal Statement? Ask the experts!

hey @'_____'Bruh you won't need references, as such, for your personal statement but you'll need to add in the dates that you completed the work experience on the page that asks for it on the UCAS form. You might find the unis you apply to do a bit of background checking or ask you about the experience at interview stage.

In terms of balance, I'd suggest focusing about 75% of the personal statement on the academic side (including your skills, main achievements etc) with about 25% on extra-curricular but it's not a hugely exact science. Main thing to remember is the relevance of what you're including. Is it adding value to a Pharmacy application?

Hope that helps and good luck!! Elliot

Good morning everyone! My name is Nia and I'm back from Swansea University today for the final day of our personal statement application surgery.

Please do use this thread to ask any queries big or small - whether you're starting to write your statement, or just tweaking the final touches, no question is a silly question.

Ask away!

Nia

Good morning Nia,
Would like to ask some suggestions for suitable specific extra curricular activities for geography or environmental sciences university courses that can be used in personal statement. Thanks

Hi @kseniasantare, it's great that you're thinking about extracurricular details. In part, this depends on what you've done already, and could include:
• School trips or any places you've visited because of a personal geographic/environmental interest
• Volunteering (helping out with lower years in your current school, or helping lecturers in college)
• Any books, television, movies or podcasts you've discovered that relate to your subject (the Ask the Geographer podcast looks interesting)
• Online courses (these are great if you're struggling to get in-person experience, check out Future Learn courses here)

Even if you haven't done any extra curricular activities in the past, it's never too late to hop on an online course or search for some recommended reading.

I would also suggest mentioning any extra curricular activities that aren't related to your subject, such as sports or hobbies that you do in your spare time. This will present you as a well-rounded person - just make sure to talk about the skills you've used in these hobbies & how they relate back to your degree choice.

Any other questions, just let me know

Nia

Morning everyone, Elliot here from the University of Leicester. I'm here all week with my colleague Nia from Swansea University to answer all your questions on all things personal statements.

There's no such thing as a silly question so fire away .

1st tip - Make a plan. Your statement needs to read well so make sure you plan out how you're going to structure it, where your key bits of evidence are going to slot in and how you're going to round it off. #PostItNotesForTheWin

Hello, I'm thinking about applying to do a foundation course because I live in Italy and finish school a year earlier than UK applicants. I have 2 questions 1) does it. make sense to include any undergrad courses on my application or would they reject me if I have applied fro foundation courses too? 2) should I talk about both the foundation course and undergrad course I hope do do afterwards in my personal statement? Thank you!

Hi @clavic,

In answer to your first question, whether you apply to undergraduate courses (without a foundation year) would depend on what qualifications you have now and what entry requirements are needed for your chosen course - these requirements can differ for each university in the UK.

If your qualifications match the entry requirements for the undergraduate courses, then you could definitely apply for a mix of foundation year & undergraduate courses. It's good to have a mix of options - a lot of students will put a course with a higher entry requirement as their first choice, and a lower entry requirement as their second choice on their application.

In your personal statement, you could definitely mention the undergraduate course that'll start after your foundation year.

If you apply for a mix of undergrad and foundation courses, your first option would be to talk generally about why you are applying to the courses and why you are a good fit for them (I am assuming your foundation & undergraduate options are in the same subject). For your foundation courses, definitely push why you are interested in that subject, especially if you don't quite meet the entry requirements/have the correct subjects. Admissions tutors will be looking to see your passion for the course.

If your course choices are slightly different, you could openly mention this in your statement and talk about your reasons to applying for each. This could get tricky with the limited word count, so try and group points together where possible (Eg, if there are key skills you'd need for both degrees).

Hope this helps - please let me know if you have further questions.

Nia

Thank you very much Nia, that's really helpful. Although the undergrad choice universities won't know that I've applied for foundations courses too, they will understand that I have from my personal statement won't they? Is that a problem? Thank you!

@clavic Good point - I would say the safest option is the first one I mentioned, which is to talk about your subject area rather than the specific courses you're applying to. This way, all admissions tutors from each of your course options will feel like you're applying specifically to them.

Avoid any negative statements in regards to not quite having the right subjects/grades, and instead talk about your passion for the subject, your extra curricular activities, what inspired you to choose the subject.

Hope that's more clear now

Nia

Hi!! I just wanted to ask about the sorts of things you should include in your personal statement specifically for computer science. Should it be more academically focused (ie achievement based) or should it be more about your passion for the subject? If anyone has any useful tips or links that would be amazing!!