Transcript Writing personal statements/ personal accounts with reflections on

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Give people / university information
◦ Because you supplement the hard data of OLE
records
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Prepare for a review or interview, e.g.
university admission officer, prospective
employer.
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Keep it short, precise but attractive.
Demonstrate originality and honest—
reflective account of one’s unique
experiences
Main body
 Consist of events, experiences and activities
you have selected for illustration of your
experiences and targets, as well as
developments over the years
 Illustrate your potential or skills that make you
successful in the tertiary education
◦ Always provide evidences
 It is more convincing to write ”taking the lead of
a 50-member voluntary team, we learnt
through…” to show your leadership than just
mentioning “I am a good leader.”
◦ Each and every paragraph should have a separate
theme, and developed within and throughout the
paragraph
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◦ A conclusion
 Provide a dramatic point
 Round up insights and impact of various experiences you
have
 Connect you to the programs or disciplines you aspire for
 Give the reader a positive impression of you
 Be clear, straight forward and end with a bang.
e.g. Rather than claiming, “I have worked hard in school as a
tutor, and I believe that I will be successful at your school,”
try
“my academic results, experiences, and incomparable
traits make me the outgoing, accomplished and promising
candidate that your schools is looking for.
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It can be…
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Overcoming adversity
Experiencing personal growth
Revealing the impacts of family history
Reflecting on one’s life goal
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Hobbies
Projects you have completed
Particular jobs and responsibilities
Accomplishments—both professional and
scholastic
Major life events that you believe have changed you
Challenges and personal hurdles you have
overcome
Life events which motivate you to apply for this
particular course of education
Individuals who influence, prepared, or motivated
you to pursue a particular profession or school
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Particular traits, work habits, attitudes or sensibilities
that you have developed which will insure your success
in school or in a profession.
Your goals
If you are applying for a university / a specific
programme, you have to show
◦ Knowledge about faculty / university / school
/programme
◦ Background which nurtures your interest in a specific
programme/ area
◦ Reasons for choosing a certain university (a specific
programme) amongst others
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Review your Student’s Self-Account written in
S4
Complete the worksheet: Brainstorming
Exercise on Self-Account/Personal Statement
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I love raising questions. How do we live in
our society? How do we behave under the
current social system? ….These are the
questions I have always asked and I really
enjoy finding out their answers. That’s why I
am interested in Social Science and Sociology
as well as its rigorous and systemic way of
studying the society.
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As a sociable and active student, I enjoy
dealing with people… Being elected by my
schoolmates as a member of the Student
Union, I got a lot of chances to get along with
different people by taking up the role as
External Vice Chairperson… I’ve also learnt
how to cooperate with others.
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Being a member of the Chinese Debating Team, I
have learnt how to collect useful information, how to
analyze data, and in what way I should present my
materials hand how they can be made
persuasively….. I am sure all these experience would
be very helpful for being a Social Science student.
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With all these activities I have participated, I am
now becoming more independent and mature. I
am able to make decisions in critical time and
work effectively. Moreover, I have acquired a
valuable leadership skills and it could surely help
me in the future.
I believe that university education is not really
about job training. It helps us develop intellectual
ability and expand our knowledge base. I hope
that I can be one of the candidates you find
suitable for your university.