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Typing up my personal statement as a homeless person

Guys I need some advice, I'm in the process of applying to university and I'm really struggling with my personal statement. I am a mature student in my mid 20's, who wants to study geology...however here is the catch, although I am bright...my gcses arent the best because I was going through family problems at the time which lead me to ultimately become homeless.

I'm currently doing a access course and I'm applying to some top universities, I know it's extremely ambitious of me to apply with a pending access qualification in a education system that values A levels above all...then combine that with a "C" in maths from my gcses...
My question is this, how do I incorporate my homelessness in to personal statement WITHOUT using it as a crutch or sympathy bait? I just want to add context....is it worth mentioning? If anything I want to stress my dedication and hard work....I've literally gone from rough sleeping to getting a full time job, temp accom AND now studying full time as well.

Has anyone got any advice? I do not want to look like a victim or a charity case...I want to earn my place (because I am hardworking, intelligent, LOVE my subject and most of all want a better life for myself) but also, I want to let my reality be known to the admissions teams.....can anyone help me out?


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Original post by IamFaceless
Guys I need some advice, I'm in the process of applying to university and I'm really struggling with my personal statement. I am a mature student in my mid 20's, who wants to study geology...however here is the catch, although I am bright...my gcses arent the best because I was going through family problems at the time which lead me to ultimately become homeless.

I'm currently doing a access course and I'm applying to some top universities, I know it's extremely ambitious of me to apply with a pending access qualification in a education system that values A levels above all...then combine that with a "C" in maths from my gcses...
My question is this, how do I incorporate my homelessness in to personal statement WITHOUT using it as a crutch or sympathy bait? I just want to add context....is it worth mentioning? If anything I want to stress my dedication and hard work....I've literally gone from rough sleeping to getting a full time job, temp accom AND now studying full time as well.

Has anyone got any advice? I do not want to look like a victim or a charity case...I want to earn my place (because I am hardworking, intelligent, LOVE my subject and most of all want a better life for myself) but also, I want to let my reality be known to the admissions teams.....can anyone help me out?
Posted from TSR Mobile


Is the person who is writing your reference aware of your circumstances? Because this is exactly the kind of thing that would be best to put in the reference, as long as the person who is writing your reference understands the circumstances and you trust them to write it in a sensitive and constructive manner. If you do put it in your personal statement then I would mention it briefly, but you certainly could put it in the context of you demonstrating your perseverance and dedication.
Well done by the way for getting to this point, that's really impressive. I know somebody who also started a Geology course as a mature student after a 'slow start' earlier in life and he's now doing a PhD at a top university so you definitely could go far :smile:

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