Personal Statement

I literally have no idea where to start with my personal statement for sixth form if anyone's got anything that'll help it'll be really appreciated thanks!

Reply 1

Jahnavi monya

Original post by xXamanXx

I literally have no idea where to start with my personal statement for sixth form if anyone's got anything that'll help it'll be really appreciated thanks!

Hi, I'm stuck on the same thing and believe it or not, I've spent the last 2 hours just to coming up with an opening sentence and I'm still thinking about it. However, I've decided to start my PS with a question
''oh, why i decided to apply to {school's name}?'' ...
but Its up to you how you want to start it.

Reply 2

Student403

Pro tip: Don't try to start with your introduction if you're finding it hard.

Write something down.

What do you like about your course?

What have you done to enlighten yourself on the field of study?

etc..

Much easier to write the body paragraphs and then look at the intro/conclusion. Start with the basics (which, for most people, are not the first and last paragraphs)

Reply 3

Student403

Original post by Jahnavi monya

I don't think you should base your PS off of one university, unless you're only applying to 1 (in which case why??)

Reply 4

Student403

Good advice - however I don't think looking at too personal statement examples, especially the ones in TSR library is a good idea. I did that and I found it very hard to come up with my own ideas because I subconsciously kept coming back on track to "copying" in a way the ones that I had read.

I think you should get your first draft done before you have a look at the examples. Or otherwise have a look at examples in subject areas different to yours just to see the type of information being included.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

jtomlin185

I just sent my UCAS application off a few day's ago and I spend literal days on PS Combined I found it useful to answer these questions.

What skills do your current subjects give to help you get ready for the course you are applying?
What experiences have I got and what skills I have gained from them? E.g I have done GOLD Duke of Edinburgh award and I gained communication/teamwork/independency and personal resilience?
What career do you want and how does the course you are applying for help you do that?

Reply 6

PasserbyA

1) Remember that you're applying to course of study in general, so you should firstly expound upon the things that you like about the subject matter. You could talk about it in detail or generally, but it's always important to give a background for the area you're interested in as a skeleton on which to further build your personal statement. This demonstrates interest.

2) Building on what you like about the subject, try to make insightful statements or musings about your subject matter (if it is a hard science, that would be difficult though), talk about interesting patterns, correlations, observations that you have. This demonstrates thought.

3) Talk about what you've done (extra effort) to acquaint yourself more intimately with your subject matter, and what else you've done to gain new perspectives. This demonstrates willingness to put in effort.

4) Remember also that it is an academic PS, so you should spend at least 80% of it talking about the subject and 20% talking about relevant other things about you, i.e, work experience that helps the course, or things you've done that demonstrate your interest for the subject/application of the subject.

I think anything else you find relevant should work, but I would say that the above 4 guidelines should be an integral part of your PS.

Reply 7

xXamanXx

Hey guys thanks so much for the replies it actually helps a lot! The only problem I have is that I literally don't do anything out of school or anything special or extra but I am doing NCS next year and work experience so can I write like an advanced thing if ygm oh and I haven't had a job so I literally don't have anything to write

Reply 8

emiloujess

Original post by xXamanXx

Possibly, my friend did! Which course are you applying for?

Reply 9

saladays

I spent quite a small amount of time on mine (sent it yesterday - yikes!) but I felt okay following a kind of made-up structure:

1) Introduction - a small bit about the kind of person you are, what you're studying and something about your predicted grades.

2) Why are the subjects you're studying relevant? How do they help you? What skills have you gained?

3) What do you enjoy? Hobbies? Interests? They should probably be relevant to your ambitions and desired courses.

4) Achievements in school - roles of responsibility, clubs, projects, awards, programs, etc etc like DoE or an art award or being a prefect

5) Achievements outside of school - any work or volunteer experience, competitions, sports clubs, awards, small things like babysitting, but beef them up!

6) Career ambitions - do you want to go to uni? What would you like to study? Desired career path?

I've had an acceptance and an acknowledgement so far so it seems to be good enough.