Excellent grades and reference letter, mediocre personal statement .

Remember not getting into Oxbridge isn't the end of the world. Just try YOUR best

So I just deal with whatever I have ?

I am an international applicant planning on reading physics at uni. I got all A* in my IGCSE's and my predicted grades are A*A*A* in A-level physics, maths, and chemistry.

However, as an international applicant, it is difficult to find somebody who is familiar with the structure of personal statements; meaning I have had very limited feedback on whatever I've wrote. And compared to other personal statements related to the courses I am applying to ( listed down below) , whatever I've wrote is rather average, nothing exceptional.

For the past month and a half, I tried my best to rack my brain cells for something minimally decent, but I failed miserably. It seems as though I have mentally given up, because I sit for hours crying hot acidic tears just trying to edit my personal statement and I still end up changing nothing. In addition, Cambridge's Oct 15 deadline is awfully close, and I feel as though I simply do not have the time nor skills to drastically rewrite my personal statement.

The question here is, I am afraid I have done my best trying to write my personal statement, although the result isn't the best. I am worried that dedicating any more time to it will start to jeopardize my grades. So do you think that good grades and a good reference letter can compensate for a relatively bad personal statement, taking into consideration that I am an international student and I am applying to rather competitive courses ? If not, do you think that applying to courses at relatively less prestigious universities help increase my chances of getting in ?

As a perfectionist, admitting that I can't do better is painful. But I seriously feel as though even if I write a better one, my personal statement will still not be of great importance. I pray that this is the case, cause otherwise, my chances of getting admitted will diminish and I am no where near ready to cry cold basic tears or to take a gap year.

Appreciative of any advice,
Lin


i) University of Birmingham (B32) - Physics with Particle Physics & Cosmology (4 years) (F373)
ii) University of Cambridge (C05) - Natural Sciences (BCF0)
iii) Durham University (D86) - Physics and Astronomy (FF3N)
iv) University of Manchester (M20) - Physics with Astrophysics (F3FA)
v) University of St Andrews (S36) - Astrophysics (F510)


tldr; Writing skills of a peanut. Can't write a good personal statement even if my life depended on it. How much will a bad personal statement hurt me ?

You can see past examples here https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/university/personal-statements/personal-statements-by-subject
But I wouldn't necessarily say most (or necessarily any) of them are good examples.

The personal statement for a science subject is not about writing an essay. You are just basically going over what skills you have, why you are applying for the subject, what interests you, what you have done/read. It shouldn't read like an epic essay or book, it should read more like a job application.

As a Physics applicant the majority of your personal statement (>80% of it) is going to be about physics and maths. Probably about things you've read, any physics/ maths competitions or challenges you have done, things you've researched online, any stories important to you about physics, etc. If you have all A*s in your IGCSEs then you should be capable of this. It's not important to get it perfect but it is important that you actually write it and it makes sense. Someone should be able to read it and understand why you're applying for physics, what parts of physics interest you, what skills you have that are important for physics, and see how what you've written shows that you'll be a good student.

Honestly: a lot of Cambridge tutors dont even read the personal statement. But you should put in 5-10 hours to write something with decent spelling, grammar, etc. since Unis like Durham and Birmingham will pay attention to it.