Transcript Slide 1

Personal Statements
Chris Garrett – Student Recruitment and Marketing Officer
The UCS Ipswich Campus
UCS Degrees
Student Life and Employment
Prospects
Making University Choices
• What subject
• What degree
• Location
• Size/type of university
• Accommodation and social facilities
• Student support
The UCAS Application
• Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
• Apply online at www.ucas.com
• For 2014 entry, UCAS accept applications from
September 2013
• 5 choices, or 4 (depending on subject)
• UCAS send your application to your chosen
institutions
• An Admissions Officer will usually make the
decision
• You can track your application online
• There are student / parent / staff sections of the
website for advice
Important UCAS Dates
•
15 October
Applications to Cambridge, Oxford and courses in medicine,
dentistry, veterinary science or veterinary medicine
•
15 January
Applications from UK and EU students to be guaranteed
equal academic consideration
•
24 March
Applications for some art and design courses
•
31 March 2014
If you have applied by 15 January, the universities should
have made their decisions by now (some may take longer)
•
Early May/June
You have to make your final decision (Firm and Insurance)
UCAS: Personal Statement
• The personal statement is where YOU tell the
universities why you want to study the course
• It can be typed directly onto the application form,
or copied and pasted from a word document
• You are allowed 47 lines of text or up to 4000
characters (including full stops, commas and
spaces)
• When checking your spelling, use the UK spell
checker
UCAS: Personal Statement
• This should be your own work and provide
details about:
- Why you want to study the course
- Relevant work experience
- Core skills
- Extra-curricular activities
- Positions of responsibility
• Take your time and start writing it early
Personal Statement: Subject
Choice
• Explain why you want to study the subject(s) you
are applying for
• Show commitment and motivation (How do you
show this?)
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of what the
subject entails
• Relate your current studies to the course
• Ensure you mention all the courses you are
applying to, but not the universities
Personal Statement: Work
Experience and Core Skills
• If you have any relevant work experience, use it
to show an understanding of the career
implications of your course
• The responsibilities
• The challenges
• The skills within the profession
• Emphasise the skills gained during work
experience
• Show an insight into the area, rather than just a
list of tasks
• Consider what experience you have that could
be described as relevant experience
Personal Statement: Work
Experience and Core Skills
“In order to find out more about Nursing, I have been
volunteering in a local Nursing Home. My tasks have
included helping residents with eating and washing,
but as I have been there for 6 months, I have been
given more responsibility. I regularly help the Nurses
as they give medications and I attend team meetings
where the future of the residents is discussed. I have
enjoyed seeing how the Nurses interact with other
professions, including physiotherapists and social
workers, but also observing the different ways that
Nurses communicate with the patients. Some of the
patients have very different communication skills,
which can be challenging, but I feel that my own
communication skills has improved dramatically from
working with them.”
Personal Statement: Work
Experience and Core Skills
“While I have contacted a number of local business
requesting work experience, I have not been able to get any. I
therefore took the opportunity to become involved in the
school newspaper, and my main responsibility is looking after
the financial side and projecting the number of copies
required each term. It has given me a good insight into the
cooperation needed within any business, as well as
negotiating with colleagues, financial management and time
management.”
“I have a part-time job in a local supermarket, where I have
worked for 18months. While it does not relate to English
Literature, the skills I have gained there will be very useful for
University study. I communicate with a range of people both
within my team and the public – which can be challenging! I
enjoy working with my colleagues and learning from them,
and the experience has made me very patient. I have to
manage my time carefully to fit my hours around my school
work, but I know I will also have to do this at University. It is a
really fun experience!”
Personal Statement: Hobbies and
Achievements
• Demonstrate that there is more to you than just
studying
• Show you have developed skills through school,
hobbies and extra-curricular activities
• Describe any additional achievements or
positions of responsibility
• Relate your hobbies and achievements to your
degree
Personal Statement: Hobbies and
Achievements
“I have been playing the Trumpet for 8 years, which I find
incredibly enjoyable. I have to manage my time for
independent practise and to play in the school band.
Being a senior member of the band involves team work,
and directing junior members – skills which will be useful
for studying at University.”
“I have recently taken on a position in the charities
committee at school. It involves speaking at assemblies
and organising events to raise money for the local
hospice, and my communication skills have improved in a
very short space of time.”
“I was awarded a First Aid Certificate as a result of three
weeks of regular training. Doing this on top of my A Levels
was hard work, but incredibly rewarding. I had to be very
organised – but this was useful experience for University.”
Structuring the PS
What proportion of the personal statement do you
think should be focusing on academic
work/interest?
70 %
• Beginning: Introduce your subject and then move
on to describing your enthusiasm for it
• Have the most relevant information at the
beginning and middle of the personal statement
• End: Conclude by reiterating what you want to
study (and a key point about why!)
Editing
Once you get started, you may find you have too
much to say! Edit carefully.
“I have been passionate about studying Radiography ever since I
broke my arm when I was 8. The experience of going to hospital and
having an X-Ray was exciting – and the professionalism of the staff
was awe-inspiring. My work experience in a Radiography department
made me even more determined to work in this area. I worked with a
range of patients, from elderly to children to drunk students, all of
whom had interesting and sometimes bizarre, injuries. I was able to
observe a lot of different machines used by Radiographers, including
X-Ray machines, MRI, CAT scans, and ultrasound. It was especially
interesting to look at the pictures of people’s bones, but also to identify
some of the key internal organs and their proximity to the bones.”
(745 characters)
Editing
“I have been passionate about studying Radiography since I
broke my arm as a child, resulting in an exciting experience
with an inspirational Radiographer in hospital. To find out
more, I had 4 days in a Radiography department, where I
worked with a range of patients including elderly people and
children. Using machines including X-Rays, MRI, CAT scans
and ultrasound, I observed interesting, and sometimes
bizarre, injuries! It was particularly interesting to see the
proximity of key internal organs to broken bones.”
(520 characters)
•
225 characters saved to be used for more discussion
of work experience!
Spelling/Grammar Mistakes
• Pubic speaking
• Freind
• Specialized
• Psycology
• Pollitics
•
“I really want to do English because I have loved it
throughout GCSE and A level. But would prefer to
work with novels instead of poetry.”
•
“I love working with young people, and am particularly
enthusiastic about working with them on sports and
projects – particularly environmental ones.”
Frequently Asked Questions
• How important is the Personal Statement?
• Should I be funny or unique?
• Should I explain my disability/difficulties in
school/problems at home in my personal
statement?
• I am applying for different courses, can I write
more than one personal statement?
• Will Admissions Officers think I am big-headed if
I mention I am Head Boy?
• My teacher doesn’t like me. Can someone else
write the Academic Reference?
What Happens Next?
• Start (finish!) researching Universities and
courses
• Attend the HEC, open days, and the UCS visit
• Get started on the Personal Statement
• Register with UCAS and complete the ‘easy’
stuff!
• Show your PS draft to teachers, family – anyone
you trust to give you an honest opinion
• Ensure the application is completed on-time
• Prepare for interviews/auditions/portfolio reviews
(from January)
• Student finance
Any Questions?
Contact us:
[email protected]
www.ucs.ac.uk
Open Events:
Saturday 28 September, 11am-3pm
Saturday 2 November, 11am-3pm