personal statement [English]

hiya has anyone started riting their personal statement yet?
was jus wonderin if anyone had any links, ideas or nethin really to share which could be helpful :confused:

i never knew it wud be this difficult to rite bout ureself!

Reply 1

leannemarie

Hard isn't it? I can't suggest any sites as I haven't been on any but I've seen loads of randon links on TSR so have a look!

Reply 2

dappleddawndrawndauphin

I've just written my English PS, PM me if you want to share ideas :smile:

Reply 3

Mata

I'm in the middle of writing mine...

I did one paragraph about my AS course and what I gained from it and what it has taught me, one paragraph on authors/ideas in literature that I like, two paragraphs on things that I've done related to literature in some way (e.g. public speaking with my own speeches, writing courses, drama and plays etc) and then a couple on extra-curriculars for example different awards, sporting success, chairperson of 6th form committee and music.

Helps if you have done a lot, I guess. Failing that, sound VERY enthusiastic.

Reply 4

rottcodd

Something worth mentioning: If you do name-drop authors that you like reading, make sure you really have read them and enjoyed them. I know it seems obvious but if you get called for an interview you can be guaranteed they're going to ask you about your opinion on the authors you mentioned!

Reply 5

buttons7

kay123

hiya has anyone started riting their personal statement yet?
was jus wonderin if anyone had any links, ideas or nethin really to share which could be helpful :confused:

i never knew it wud be this difficult to rite bout ureself!

well i suppose i have technically started writing my ps... actually i've finished it because i applied last year. i can't think of any links or ideas that are really worth sharing - the thing about personal statements is that they have to be personal, and i have no idea what interests you or what you think about different books. one thing i would say, though, is start writing it now - i didn't begin writing until i went back to school in september and, because i was an oxbridge applicant, my school set me an internal deadline of something like the 17th of september for my application form. 10 days to write a ps = muchos stressos.

all i'd advise it to make it interesting - and to make sure that it's all true. there's no point saying you've read something if you haven't, because if you get called for interview, the admissions people might find out.

the format of my ps went something like this: (actually, it went exactly like this, i have a copy of it about a foot away from my right elbow)
first paragraph: english in general, what it does, why it's useful, establishing the fact that i like it.
second paragraph: books and authors - specific, concise literary criticism. i based mine around a few books i know well and have enjoyed, and tried to write about the aspects of those books which i found the most interesting and important, whilst also attempting to link the themes together.
third paragraph: my interests and how that links to my understanding of english, non-academic achievements and how they link to my understanding of english, etc.
last paragraph: conclusion - why i want to study english. basically the nub of the personal statement, into which i incorporated a quote.

obviously, since that is the only ps i'e ever written i can't tell you if that's the best way to go about it. but it seems to have worked for me, at least as far as getting the offers goes - i got offers from oxford, durham, bristol, exeter, southampton and leeds. all i need to do now is make the grades... :s:

Reply 6

cleas001

you guys are writing your statments EARLY... i applied last year- i didnt take me a huge ammount of time to do... advice...
write it yourself-
unis can so tell if its yours or not!
do not put yourself down
make sure you put even amounts of social and accademic areas- if anything the social part is most important.
ask your subject teachers for input they can be a great help- what i did was write it show it to my form tutor- do his suggestions, then show your subject teacher- get them to make suggestion- do these- then get another teacher to check it just to make sure the balance is good.
be honest- at an interview i was told that they admired my honesty in saying i loved going out with my mates to gigs and supporting bands!! its much better to say something like that than pretend you play the piano.

Reply 7

rottcodd

cleas001

make sure you put even amounts of social and accademic areas- if anything the social part is most important

I would say writing about your academic interests is slightly more important than the social aspects. Although they are worth mentioning, uni's are more interested in why you'v chosen to study the subject that you're applying for.

Reply 8

Champagne Breakfast

Academic should be about 3/4 (if not more) of your entire thing I think, and 'social' things have got to relate to university life/the course so I guess the trick is to show that you do other things but also that these things make you better than the next person :P

Reply 9

Mata

If you put down social aspects, make it selective, and make it sound good. For example, my drama group puts on really professional productions, but a big part of it is having pub lunches, eating the props and taking bets on who'll pull. Needless to say, I didn't put that down.

Basically, edit anything that involves alcohol, drugs, sex or jumping off high things. Unless the latter is for charity. :smile:

Reply 10

Rose64

cleas001

make sure you put even amounts of social and accademic areas- if anything the social part is most important.

No offence, but that's pretty bad advice! The social part of your statement is not more important than the academic side, as this is where you explain why you love your subject and why you deserve a place to study it, which is the main purpose of a personal statement. You should definitely include some non-academic achievements though, especially if they relate to your subject or you can link them in some way. If you're applying to do English, for example, you might mention how you contributed to your college magazine (I did :biggrin:

).

I dedicated a paragraph to my non-academic persuits and achievements, linking them to English when I could, and felt that this was just right. Ofcourse it entirely depends on the subject you're applying for and how much "social" content you feel is relevant or acceptable. The beauty of personal statments is their subjectivity! :p:

Reply 11

sapphisticated

My school gave us fairly crap advice on personal statements - in fact, if it wasn't for a Warwick open day I went to last September, I probably would have written something completely unsuitable.

Reply 12

Guitarmarama

Here's my tip...

Check for spellings. I know someone who applied to study English Literature and French (having taken a year out) at some pretty good universities, and he got two rejections from universities. It was only soon after he sent his personal statement off that he looked at it on his PC and realised that he had spelt "favourite" as "favorite"... four times...