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personal statement too academic

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Reply 20
Avatar for hahaaddie
hahaaddie
OP
11
im predicted 3 A stars, decent PS and great reference. But i didnt get straight 8s and 9s at GCSES. mine were mostly 8s and 7s. how far do you think this will impact my application to UCL?
Original post by hahaaddie
im predicted 3 A stars, decent PS and great reference. But i didnt get straight 8s and 9s at GCSES. mine were mostly 8s and 7s. how far do you think this will impact my application to UCL?

Ask UCL what weighting they place on GCSEs when selecting for your course.
Original post by hahaaddie
im predicted 3 A stars, decent PS and great reference. But i didnt get straight 8s and 9s at GCSES. mine were mostly 8s and 7s. how far do you think this will impact my application to UCL?


What course?
Reply 23
Avatar for hahaaddie
hahaaddie
OP
11
Original post by PQ
Ask UCL what weighting they place on GCSEs when selecting for your course.


what contact do i use, do you know?
Reply 24
Avatar for hahaaddie
hahaaddie
OP
11
Original post by jobajojoba
What course?


politics
Original post by hahaaddie
what contact do i use, do you know?

There should be contact details on the UCAS website
Original post by hahaaddie


politics


I mean your predicted grades are already amazing, and they obviously have a larger importance than GCSE’s, that said majority 7’s and 8’s are still really good and much higher than the majority of UK population. They don’t seem that low that they would prove to be a barrier in your application, and as you said if you have a good PS and strong reference, you’re definitely in a good position for a UCL offer - so I probably wouldn’t worry too much.
Reply 27
Avatar for hahaaddie
hahaaddie
OP
11
Original post by jobajojoba
I mean your predicted grades are already amazing, and they obviously have a larger importance than GCSE’s, that said majority 7’s and 8’s are still really good and much higher than the majority of UK population. They don’t seem that low that they would prove to be a barrier in your application, and as you said if you have a good PS and strong reference, you’re definitely in a good position for a UCL offer - so I probably wouldn’t worry too much.


thank you... i really hope so!
I was told the same thing and then I just put in one line about a part time job I had. You only need like max 2 sentences about non-academic stuff
Original post by hahaaddie
I had a uni admission tutor tell me today that my personal statement was too academic? like hwta does that even mean, I thought thats what top unis want you to be like? She suggested talking about films and podcasts and work experience but my course is highly academic and theoretic

Hi,

I would agree with some of the posts here stating that universities want to hear more about you than just your academic side. They want to know about your personality, hobbies, and interests and you can always link this back to how it relates to your chosen course. They are usually looking for an all-round person who has a lot of interests and as I said it can all be linked to how this would make you the perfect candidate for your degree.

Hope this helps and best of luck with your application,

Mary
London South Bank University Student Rep (3rd-year Children's Nursing)
Original post by LSBU
They want to know about your personality, hobbies, and interests


The PS is for a degree course not a dating service
As someone that reads more PS's in a week than I have hot dinners, this post comes with my highest possible recommendation:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6666418

"Often, applicants fall into the trap of trying to discuss every activity that they have ever done. This is inadvisable and not necessary - a couple of relevant activities discussed in more detail is much better than a massive list of irrelevant hobbies. If you do mention skills that you have developed from your hobbies, but you need to make sure that you don't just list them - give examples of circumstances when you've displayed or used those skills, and they should be relevant to studying the course you are applying for."
Original post by Elsie68
I was at a Russel Group Uni Open Day today where an admissions tutor told us he never gets to see most personal statements, only ones where the applicant is doing non-traditional exams. He claims offers are made on the basis of grades in nearly all cases and the stress of writing a Personal Statement is a waste of time.

Hi there, I would definitely not rely on what one person has said. Personal Statements are most definitely not a waste of time and they are read. Admissions Team is more than one person and they would read a PS to find out if you are worth having in their university. For example, if you said you were a hippy who went to raves every night and you dropped out of school early - you definitely wouldn't be offered a place based on that information. However, if you demonstrated you are a good learner, that you put yourself on to a night school class to learn something (related to the course you are applying to) then that will demonstrate that you are willing to learn, that you have a good background and would be a great student.
Please don't think for one minute a personal statement is a waste of time.
Reply 33
Avatar for Elsie68
Elsie68
6
Original post by University of Surrey Student Rep
Hi there, I would definitely not rely on what one person has said. Personal Statements are most definitely not a waste of time and they are read. Admissions Team is more than one person and they would read a PS to find out if you are worth having in their university. For example, if you said you were a hippy who went to raves every night and you dropped out of school early - you definitely wouldn't be offered a place based on that information. However, if you demonstrated you are a good learner, that you put yourself on to a night school class to learn something (related to the course you are applying to) then that will demonstrate that you are willing to learn, that you have a good background and would be a great student.
Please don't think for one minute a personal statement is a waste of time.

Thanks. Have been told twice now that PS is not that important, both were at RG open days. I’m not saying a waste of time, clearly you have to do it so you need to make the best of it. I think they may be useful to help decide borderline cases.
Original post by Elsie68
Original post by University of Surrey Student Rep
Hi there, I would definitely not rely on what one person has said. Personal Statements are most definitely not a waste of time and they are read. Admissions Team is more than one person and they would read a PS to find out if you are worth having in their university. For example, if you said you were a hippy who went to raves every night and you dropped out of school early - you definitely wouldn't be offered a place based on that information. However, if you demonstrated you are a good learner, that you put yourself on to a night school class to learn something (related to the course you are applying to) then that will demonstrate that you are willing to learn, that you have a good background and would be a great student.
Please don't think for one minute a personal statement is a waste of time.

Thanks. Have been told twice now that PS is not that important, both were at RG open days. I’m not saying a waste of time, clearly you have to do it so you need to make the best of it. I think they may be useful to help decide borderline cases.


There are some unis which are on the complete other end of the spectrum, so what you’re saying doesn’t apply to every applicant.

Namely, LSE - their absolute key point of assessment is the personal statement and they advise it to be fully academic and tailored to their course, people spend months and months perfecting it for such universities. Probably explains why it’s one of the most competitive unis in the country.
Original post by Elsie68
Original post by University of Surrey Student Rep
Hi there, I would definitely not rely on what one person has said. Personal Statements are most definitely not a waste of time and they are read. Admissions Team is more than one person and they would read a PS to find out if you are worth having in their university. For example, if you said you were a hippy who went to raves every night and you dropped out of school early - you definitely wouldn't be offered a place based on that information. However, if you demonstrated you are a good learner, that you put yourself on to a night school class to learn something (related to the course you are applying to) then that will demonstrate that you are willing to learn, that you have a good background and would be a great student.
Please don't think for one minute a personal statement is a waste of time.

Thanks. Have been told twice now that PS is not that important, both were at RG open days. I’m not saying a waste of time, clearly you have to do it so you need to make the best of it. I think they may be useful to help decide borderline cases.


Also I don’t think RG really means much. There’s plenty unis outside of RG which are better than most RG unis. And IIRC it wasn’t a group formed based on the quality of universities, but simply because these universities used to meet in Russel Hotel in London, and decided to form a group.

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