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how to include my disability into my personal statement

ok so i'm an international student and i'm trying to get into ucl but my grades are a couple points lower than the requirement largely because of my disabilities and i'm wondering how to include that in my personal statement in a way that sounds natural. if anyone could give me any advice it'd be really helpful especially since my school's counsellor isn't super familiar with uk unis so i've just kind of been left to figure things out for myself. thank you!
Original post by blueprufrock
ok so i'm an international student and i'm trying to get into ucl but my grades are a couple points lower than the requirement largely because of my disabilities and i'm wondering how to include that in my personal statement in a way that sounds natural. if anyone could give me any advice it'd be really helpful especially since my school's counsellor isn't super familiar with uk unis so i've just kind of been left to figure things out for myself. thank you!

I don't think it goes in your personal statement. Any "extenuating circumstances" should be included in your teacher reference.
Original post by blueprufrock
ok so i'm an international student and i'm trying to get into ucl but my grades are a couple points lower than the requirement largely because of my disabilities and i'm wondering how to include that in my personal statement in a way that sounds natural. if anyone could give me any advice it'd be really helpful especially since my school's counsellor isn't super familiar with uk unis so i've just kind of been left to figure things out for myself. thank you!


There's a separate section where you can disclose any disabilities, and as above, any extenuating circumstances should be outlined by your referee in their reference.

It's not something for your personal statement in either case unless your disabilities relate to your proposed course (and even then that could be a double edged sword e.g. saying "I want to study physiotherapy due to my disability which I have to undergo a lot of physio for" or something, the risk is then that you may not be able to engage with patients who aren't yourself as strongly. Since treating a total stranger who may be less engaged with their condition/treatment/etc is a very different prospect!).

Your personal statement is just for you to talk about your interests in the course and motivations for pursuing it, and what things you've done in relation to it. It should be mainly focused on the academic course itself and related matters.
Original post by artful_lounger
There's a separate section where you can disclose any disabilities, and as above, any extenuating circumstances should be outlined by your referee in their reference.
It's not something for your personal statement in either case unless your disabilities relate to your proposed course (and even then that could be a double edged sword e.g. saying "I want to study physiotherapy due to my disability which I have to undergo a lot of physio for" or something, the risk is then that you may not be able to engage with patients who aren't yourself as strongly. Since treating a total stranger who may be less engaged with their condition/treatment/etc is a very different prospect!).
Your personal statement is just for you to talk about your interests in the course and motivations for pursuing it, and what things you've done in relation to it. It should be mainly focused on the academic course itself and related matters.

thank you so much!
Original post by sound-famous-
I don't think it goes in your personal statement. Any "extenuating circumstances" should be included in your teacher reference.

thanks!!!

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