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english and history of art personal statement

hi ive posted various posts with similar content so sorry if im repeating myself. basically i applied to most of the top universites to do english literature last year with predicted AAA. i got rejected from all without even one interview. my school did little towards my statement and just put in a few commas here are there.
i am now planning on doing english lit and history of art and would like to apply to nottingham, leeds, st. andrews and edinburgh and will hopefully have AAAab. (at a private school)
I have more direction and focus now so hopefully my personal statement will be better but i am still worried i am making the mistake of setting my sights to high again and will be rejected and will have no-where to go.
i got ok gcse -2 a* and about 4 A's and 4 b's at a comprehensive.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as i am now getting very worried again :redface:

Reply 1

Kater Murr

Oh, you SO wrote this because I suggested York :smile:

I think your choices are fine. You should get into Leeds at the very least with that (I'm not sure but I'm guessing their entry requirements are ABB/BBB?) and so as long as you're happy with accepting that Leeds may be a possiblity (though I reckon you'll almost certainly get into Nottingham, too) then go for it :smile:

Reply 2

cheerios

hahah no!
ok thanks yep i would be happy to go to either!

Reply 3

Angelil

Edinburgh are very very tough on GCSEs and the offers they give out are often higher than what they state on their website - typical eh? So I would consider another uni in place on Edinburgh with your GCSEs (they're not bad AT ALL, Edinburgh are just rubbish :p:

).

Other than that, sounds fine :smile:

Reply 4

peachmelba

I'm reading HoA at York but nearly applied for English, so might be able to help.

With your grades, you are almost certain to get plenty of offers provided you have a decent reference and sort your PS out.

Your PS should focus on why you want to study the combination of English and history of art. Try and be specific about which aspects of books you've enjoyed, galleries and museums you've visited. You're aiming to show your enthusiasm not supply a shopping list. The obvious link between the two subjects is historical/cultural context but you could also, for example, talk about how analysing texts/artworks gets you beyond the obvious first reading. Relate what you've enjoyed from your A level subjects to the above.

If you haven't studied HoA or art before, that won't be a problem as long as you can demonstrate a genuine interest.

Don't waste space on extracurriculars - admissions tutors are not really interested unless it's relevant to their subject. Maybe a sentence to show that you can cope with the increased time management demands at uni.

Finally, with your grades, you'd be mad not to consider York. Both English and HoA departments are among the very best in the country and it's a fantastic place to be a student.

PM me if you want to know anything more specific.

Good luck

Reply 5

cheerios

Thanks very much that advice was really helpful. :smile:

I will definately follow all your advice. I am looking at going to a couple of exhibitions that im interested in , in the next week or 2. I didnt study history of art for A level - i studied English Lit, Classics and Art - however my art involved alot of research and was at times similar to history of art. I have also recently purchased The Story of Art by Gombrich which i hope will be helpful!?

Reply 6

Angelil

Good stuff, this is all PS gold ;yes;

Reply 7

peachmelba

Gombrich is a classic that you'll find on most HoA reading lists. Just be aware that it is a dated approach and only one of the histories of art! A good though slim introduction to the subject is Marcia Poynton's 'History of Art - A Student's Introduction'. http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Art-Students-Marcia-Pointon/dp/0415151813/ref=sr_1_2/203-9556273-1434317?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188637575&sr=8-2

If you go on the York department website, you'll also find a good introductory reading list.
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/histart/prelimintro07.pdf
Dip into anything that takes your fancy but don't feel you have to read masses before you apply!