The "I'm applying to UCAS for 2012 entry" thread

OK, taking a rough, quick example from my subject (psychology), you could say something like 'I am interested in the different theories surrounding autism, such as 'extreme male brain' and lack of central coherence (don't worry if you don't know what these are ), because it is a pervasive condition that affects people in many different ways, yet people are trying to explain it using one theory.'

OK, so you wouldn't just list a load of interests and you would back it up with more theory (e.g. by explaining the theories a bit more), but the basic idea is there

I already helped someone else at diskusjon.no with his PS. I even sent him mine for inspiration. It's about trust.

I'd like to think that I know what needs to be inside a PS. So many people tell you to include a bunch of crap which doesn't matter.

When it came to my own PS, I spent weeks writing it. The feedback I got from others who read it, was mostly just grammar related/slight wording change.

I already helped someone else at diskusjon.no with his PS. I even sent him mine for inspiration. It's about trust.

I'd like to think that I know what needs to be inside a PS. So many people tell you to include a bunch of crap which doesn't matter.

When it came to my own PS, I spent weeks writing it. The feedback I got from others who read it, was mostly just grammar related/slight wording change.

Psychology applicant here! I'm having the same problem... looking over what I have of my PS so far, it seems very detached (i.e. I'm having a difficult time connecting the theories to myself). So far I'm just analysing them and connecting them to other things, but not necessarily me. Help?

When you say connecting them to yourself, do you mean as in relating them to your behaviour (e.g. 'I have realised that I conformed in English lessons, like Asch's experiments'), or how you're interested in them? If it's the former, don't bother If it's the latter - well you must have had a reason to read the stuff if it's not part of your course! If you want, you can post your PS in the PS help forum for someone (probably me ) to look at

Hahaha, oh no, I definitely mean the latter!

I'll post my PS in that forum soon, but I'm not finished it yet so I want to get at least the first draft completely done before I send it off.

How many sentences would you suggest devoting to each book/major theory? I have about 5-7 sentences. Too much? My PS is over-limit at the moment.

Oh, and would you suggest referencing studies and/or theories that are more recent in nature, but may not be well known... or those that are older, a bit more well known, and more widely discussed? Ack, I'm being confusing, aren't I... For the second option, I'm not going to start talking about Freud or anything, but for the first option, I mean something I found in the BPS Journal or Psychology Today. Which option would be more... highly regarded, I suppose?

I know you've posted your PS in the PS help forum, so I don't think you would do this, but it goes for ANYONE else on this site - please don't PM or email your PS to anyone on here. The PS helpers have proven that they're at uni already/have met their offers/are graduates and so they won't steal your statement. You have no such guarantees with a random user on here

There's no 'hard and fast' answer for the amount of space - an applicant could write an amazing PS but write their whole academic section on one book. On the other hand, someone could write one just as good with mentioning two or three books, in the same amount of space. Make sure you don't sound like you're trying to 'teach' the admissions tutors the psychology.

As for your second question - it's not about how well regarded the studies are, but how you talk about them. Ones like Milgram/Zimbardo etc have been done to death, so it would be refreshing for admissions tutors (certainly for me when I read PSs!) to read about something more unique, in the likes of the BPS journal or PT

How many PS drafts have you done so far guys ? i am on 7 already i can tell this is going to have a bad ending lol

I'm fixing up my second a bit, let's say I'm on draft number 2.5

We can't control what happens on other forums, but this is what we advocate on this one. The fact of the matter (unfortunately) is that some people do lie on the internet. The whole point about PS help is that it is confidential and guaranteed that people will not steal your PS for their own benefit, as they have no reason to. Thousands of people have submitted and had their PSs reviewed in PS help. We have written the guidance on the TSR Wiki for writing PSs

It was 3200 characters long... it's back on 2500 or so now though, because some parts where really horrid.

How is yours coming along?

There are not many decent places for Norwegians to go for help with their personal statements. Even the organisations who help you to apply are kinda lumpy.

To be honest, once they had told me the basics of applying, I learnt how everything else was done on my own.

Even coming to this forum might only lead to confusion for some, as each uni seems to have it's own religious followers and it's impossible to get objective views on each uni/course.

I have no experience with the PS Help service, so I can't comment on that particular section.

I haven't even done a single draft, I want to start but I'd feel a bit of a loser doing it today

Oh no, what's wrong with starting today?! You should just jot some notes on a paper about how you'd like to structure your PS, it's easier than thinking "I need to write 4000 characters".

It's my birthday and I can't sleep, I can't help but feel like I should be doing something more exciting than jotting down notes for a personal statement, but all my friends are 100 miles away