The Student Room Group

What sort of things can I do to show my manual dexterity?

I am a y12 student, and I have only recently finished writing my personal statement. The only problem is that I have nothing to show that I have got good manual dexterity skills, besides playing badminton, which doesnt sound entirely convincing! Does anyone have any idea of what I can do over the summer to show my manual dexterity skills in? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Also, whilst I'm at it, I might as well ask:- How hard is it getting into Dentistry at Manchester/ Kings? I would love to go to any of these two unis and they would be my first choice by a mile. Will my crappy grades at GCSE (1A* 9As and 3Bs) and my AS predictions of AAAA prove to be a problem whilst applying? Would they be a waste of UCAS space? Or should I just not bother applying to these unis and go for some others?
Reply 1
im in yr 12 we havent even started looking at PS's yet!!!
Reply 2
Can you do a rubick's cube really quickly?
i got a couple of crosstiching kits from the local haberdashery place. all very gay for a guy but it did the job lol! they seemed very interested in it when i showed the interviewers at the unis i went to.
Reply 4
you could try modelling kits. I made a ferrari 2005 f1 car using plastic pieces, paint and stickers and glue (believe me, the stickers were the hardest to apply) and took that in. They were impressed, all the interviewers commented along the lines 'oh wow'. If your going to do this, then choose one thats relatively complex, it gives you more to show off - about 70-80 pieces. Revell is the manufacturer. You can make boats, cars, and other stuff. Its probably best if you get 2, then you can use the first to practice and make the necesary mistakes to learn from.

Alternatively, and this is probably better, cast an impression yourself and fine down the edges and take that in. That looks good because you can show off your manual skills as well as your interest in dentistry. I did it at the Eastman Dental Hospital in Kings cross, london, as part of wkexp. Its a brilliant place to go to, you get to see what postgraduates do.
Reply 5
Hey! I'm in yr12 and I do pottery! I'm making a massive canine from clay and then going to burn oxides on it to show the plaque on the tooth! Hopefully, that may had inspired you!
Reply 6
Hafzal
Hey! I'm in yr12 and I do pottery! I'm making a massive canine from clay and then going to burn oxides on it to show the plaque on the tooth! Hopefully, that may had inspired you!


Just a word of caution for that one- make sure you are getting the morphology of the tooth exact correct- canines aren't the most complex but they do have some particular features especially if you're going to the root... and find out where plaque actually is most likely to sit on the tooth etc- there places where its more suceptible....

if you do something tooth related get it exactly right and they'll be impressed... Last year somebody made a molar from wax- and all the morpohlogy was correct which was impressive cos i wouldnt have considered that every tooth is so differnt...

but i agree with all the above, cross stitch kits, model kits, artwork, anything you can think of.
Reply 7
Cool! Thanks guys, that helped alot! Also, what do you people have to say about whether it is worth an application place on my UCAS to apply for Kings and/or Manchester judging by my GCSE grades/ AS level grades (AAAA hopefully)? Or would I be a straight reject? Be honest :p: lol.
Reply 8
I think kings and manch should be fine. i think its Bham that requires 5a*'s - or was it 5a*/a's?
Reply 9
logicallyinsane
i got a couple of crosstiching kits from the local haberdashery place. all very gay for a guy but it did the job lol! they seemed very interested in it when i showed the interviewers at the unis i went to.


LOL I brought in cross stitching stuff too. When I think about it this does seem kinda gay but the interviewers liked it and said it was colourful haha :smile: I brought in a piece I did at primary school though but also took in music certificates. When I went to the interviews some people I saw brought in art work and one girl brought in jewellery she made which must have impressed. Hope that helps.
Reply 10
hey...tazzie i was just wondering how you would make a model of the tooth...coz i got all the dental wax and everything...but i cant find any site that shows how to make a model of a molar or canine....anyone got any ideas or sites or anything?

thanks alot!
Riquelminho
Cool! Thanks guys, that helped alot! Also, what do you people have to say about whether it is worth an application place on my UCAS to apply for Kings and/or Manchester judging by my GCSE grades/ AS level grades (AAAA hopefully)? Or would I be a straight reject? Be honest :p: lol.


Manchester should be fine.
But i think that when Kings do interview selection they use A* Count. So they interview the people with the most A*s first. I wouldn't let this put you off though. As long as you get predicted AAA in A2 you should be fine.
Reply 12
wot grade music certificates will they accept? I did grade 5 ages ago, doin 7 this term, but might not get that certificate in time! (providing I actually get an interview!) :biggrin:
Reply 13
hey guys, i was speaking to my careers teacher and she said unless they ask u to bring in an example of manual dext, you dont have to? is this tru
Reply 14
I have an interview on monday 4 and i duno wot 2 bring 4 my manual dexterity. Would bringing circuits that i have soldered in small areas and used lots of wiring etc in them be a gd idea? I don't play ne instruments ahhhhhh help!! :frown:
Reply 15
hello everyone!
I am going to take the following to prove my manual dexterity: (will they be fine???)

1) Graphic design; (computerised images only)
2) Do karate
3) used to do kubodo;
basically kubodo is training with weapons, like a BO, SAI, Tonfa
4) Used to play on piano, have not got a certificate tho, and that was long ago!

I am particularly concerned about the first one ^^^

Do you think that designing an image on a computer will not show manual dexterity as manual drawing will?

and will it be appropriate to take in some computerised images to the interview

PS: I dont mean CAD, i mean drawing but on pc!
basically; using photoshop; i would crop someones head and place it on superman's body for example, and to make it look realistic i need to draw a neck which match both skins! this is one type of images i was planning take!
I thought this would prove working on very precise areas + requires steady hands, well i kno you can magnify the picture, but then you can magnify it up to a certain limit before all the pixels appear as squares.
Do you lot agree that this might show manual dexterity?
and what do you think about the other three?
Reply 16
I want to do pottery but i dunno where do start from I did some research but can hardly find a course ! :s-smilie: :s-smilie: any help/ suggestions?