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Application Surgeries - Need help with your Personal Statement? Ask the experts!

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Hi Elliot,

I'm applying for a MSc in Digital Marketing. I completed my undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management back in 2007. I've been working as a translator for the past 10 years and hold a Diploma in Translation with specialisation in Business and Law.

I would like to apply what I'll learn from the master's degree in my own business, to promote it as well as to offer additional consultancy services to my clients.

How should I approach the personal statement in this case?

Thank you for your help!

Reply 21

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by ashvinsingh

Hi hope you’re well,
I’m applying for pharmacy and I feel that I have talked too much about pharmacy but not me as a person what are some things I could include about myself?

@ashvinsingh good question and one I'd probably focus on the NHS values initially given the subject choice in question. https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/working-health/working-nhs/nhs-constitution is a good place to start.

Another area you could focus on are your interpersonal skills given the importance of communication, teamwork etc to the Pharmacy world. Perhaps illustrate these with a non-academic example?

That should probably cover it to be honest :smile:

!

good luck! Elliot

Reply 22

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by xahntra

@xahntra thanks for the question!

I think focusing on the skills you've developed within your industry experience would be a great place to start, particular in relevance to key areas within the Digital Marketing world (e.g understanding different cultures and how communication differs accordingly) and then overlaying that with the longer-term angle of what you'd like to do with the MSc which you've outlined above.

Definitely start with your interest in the course first (why Digital Marketing?), follow up with your skillset and relate this back to the modules/course content and follow-up with how you intend to use the MSc.

Hope that helps! :smile:

Elliot

Reply 23

themartinipolice

One of the unis I'm applying to has told me to submit an alternative personal statement.

It's very different to my other 4 choices. Just wondering if anybody has any tips for writing it. Like is it a bad idea to name the uni since they are the only one receiving it. Should I be more specific than I would in a general personal statement? Any other tips?

Reply 24

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by themartinipolice

Hi there - ooh not one i've heard of before but yes, if they've asked you send them one directly you can probably be more specific than you would be in your statement via UCAS.

My suggestion would picking out some of the specific module names/course content mentioned in the course description, maybe looking into the 2nd/3yr modules too to show you've looked a bit deeper into that option.

The crux of the statement remains the same though - you essentially showing that uni why you're the perfect student for the course.

other thing you could do is email that department and ask if there's anything specific they look for. You don't have to reveal in that email that you've actually applied...

Hope that helps and good luck! :smile:

Elliot

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 25

ashvinsingh

Original post by University of Leicester

!

good luck! Elliot

Thanks a lot, would it be possible for me to send you my personal statement and get some feedback on it?

Reply 26

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by ashvinsingh

Thanks a lot, would it be possible for me to send you my personal statement and get some feedback on it?

Hey @ashvinsingh, we don't do Pharmacy at Leicester I'm afraid so I'm probably not best placed to provide constructive feedback on it. I'm sure if you got in touch with some unis that do offer it, they'd happily provide support? or perhaps take along with you to an Open day if you've got any booked?

Elliot

Reply 27

ashvinsingh

Original post by University of Leicester

Oh okay no worries I’ll email some of the universities I am applying to, many thanks

Reply 28

GST1_m4n543

Hi,

I am trying to decide whether or not to do a personal statement on optometry or radiotheraphy and has struggled to structure by personal statement (even write 500 words). I dont know which one to do and i am stressing because my school requires me to send off my ucas and personal statement by end of novemember. also i unfortunately do not have any physical work experience or done anything related to those careers. what should i do?

Reply 29

becca_sneyd

Original post by StrawberryDreams

Hey to everyone tagged,

Apologies if this isn't relevant to you or you've already applied, but this week we've got live personal statement advice from universities on site in this thread and I thought you may be interested!

If you have a question about personal statements, why not add it here and they'll be able to support you :smile:

Good luck with your applications :biggrin:

Spoiler

why have i been tagged??

Reply 30

StrawberryDreams

Original post by becca_sneyd

why have i been tagged??

Hey! You've been tagged as we thought you may be interested in this thread - no worries and apologies if it's not relevant/applicable to you however! Have a great day :smile:

Reply 31

becca_sneyd

Original post by StrawberryDreams

Hey! You've been tagged as we thought you may be interested in this thread - no worries and apologies if it's not relevant/applicable to you however! Have a great day :smile:

yeh i've already put in my application :smile:

Reply 32

StrawberryDreams

Original post by becca_sneyd

yeh i've already put in my application :smile:

Ahh amazing - good luck with it! :biggrin:

Reply 33

fluffymochi

As a mature student is it necessary to mention dropping out of uni in the past on my personal statement? It was about 5 years ago.

Reply 34

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by GST1_m4n543

hey @GST1_m4n543 it's a tough one because my usual advice to students who are struggling to articulate in 500 words why you'd like to do a subject is 'is that subject definitely right for you?'.

it might be worth giving your local/nearest optometrists and/or radiotherapy department to see if anyone could have a chat with you about their careers/place of work to help you decide whether either is right for you. Have you managed to go to any university open days yet to meet your future tutors/see facilities etc? that might help too.

the other thing you could do is head to uni websites that run those degrees and see if they have a facility to chat to students. We do at Leicester and a high number of other UK unis do too. It's usually somewhere near their homepage given it's usually pretty popular. Again that might help you decide which might be more suitable by chatting to students on the course.

Hope that helps and good luck! :smile:

Elliot

Reply 35

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by fluffymochi

As a mature student is it necessary to mention dropping out of uni in the past on my personal statement? It was about 5 years ago.

Hi @fluffymochi we tend to advise trying to stick to positive things within your personal statement so unless you can demonstrate within the point you're making about dropping out that there's a positive angle to it (e.g enabled you to follow a career/re-train/take a different life decision) then I'd probably avoid.

Hope that helps and good luck :smile:

Elliot

Reply 36

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Signing out for the evening now everyone, thanks for all your questions! We're back from 9am tomorrow to answer all your questions on personal statements :smile:

. Have a fab evening! Elliot

Reply 37

'_____'Bruh

hey
i am applying for pharmacy, do i need to get references from my work experience workplace for my personal statement or is that not required
also for my personal statement how much do i balance about talking about me and the skills that i have acquired [from working experiences and virtual programs] and the values that most unis want me to include
kind regards

Reply 38

username5854816

Original post by iamanon123

how do i talk about what i have read in my personal statement? im applying for psychology and have read some articles but finding it difficult to work out what is actually relevant

sometimes it's more relevant to talk about what you have learned from the articles and where it has taken you further. For example, you could link it to a section of the curriculum and say this led you to do further research into a particular area leading you to the article. After reading the article you had a deeper/wider understanding of the topic which interests you and you can't wait to study it in more detail at uni or this then lead you onto something else.

This is a section of my personal statement for Forensic Science (not the same subject but the layout and structure can stay unchanged):

After watching the TV drama 'Silent Witness' I read the book of the same name written by Nigel McCrery which covered various topics such as ballistics, blood, and DNA evidence. Alongside the developments of experimental techniques McCrery tells of pivotal cases and key scientists that all contributed to the change, it was surprising to see how quickly the technology has developed over time. From Bertillion's 'photo-fit pictures' to DNA profiling it is inspiring to see how far the science has come and it excites me to know that I could also contribute one day and leave not just a trace but an impact on the industry.

Hope this helps!

Reply 39

University of Leicester

Official Rep

Original post by '_____'Bruh

hey @'_____'Bruh you won't need references, as such, for your personal statement but you'll need to add in the dates that you completed the work experience on the page that asks for it on the UCAS form. You might find the unis you apply to do a bit of background checking or ask you about the experience at interview stage.

In terms of balance, I'd suggest focusing about 75% of the personal statement on the academic side (including your skills, main achievements etc) with about 25% on extra-curricular but it's not a hugely exact science. Main thing to remember is the relevance of what you're including. Is it adding value to a Pharmacy application?

Hope that helps and good luck!! :smile:

Elliot