Using your Tripos experience in the UCAS process

Although the central aim of the Tripos is for you to develop as an all-round individual, we believe that the Tripos award provides you with experience that will benefit your future academic study and professional success. Every year thousands of students from around the country apply to university, as a result gaining entry to the most prestigious universities is extremely competitive. We believe your Tripos achievements will help you in your application to the institutions of your choice.

Leading universities are looking for students who demonstrate a clear passion for their course, enthusiasm for learning and commitment to improvement. Academic grades are a uniform expectation for university entry, but they are keen to know about your individual experiences and achievements. The most impressive candidates are those who demonstrate that they have gone above and beyond to pursue their interests and develop themselves. Universities are keen to accept students who have shown initiative, leadership and can proactively contribute to the university. They are also keen to see how ready and equipped you are for undergraduate study, including where you have developed your skills and resilience.

The three elements of your Tripos experience can all be used in your personal statement and in university interviews. The best way to show your qualities and what you can offer is by demonstrating them in what you have achieved and accomplished whilst at school. It is important that you tailor your personal statement to the course you are applying for, therefore your Tripos experience should only be included if it fits with that. As well as linking your Tripos experiences to the specific course you are applying for, also mention the skills and Learner Qualities you have developed along the way.

In preparation for drafting your personal statement it is recommended you reread your reflections from the Tripos to see what examples and achievements you could use. Don’t just say you are ‘organised’ or ‘work well as part of a team’, demonstrate these skills by providing an example from your Tripos or another Sixth Form activity. Equally, when preparing for interviews later in the application process, you can use examples from your experiences or reflections to demonstrate; study skills, accomplishments, challenges faced, resilience shown and independence.

Here are some examples of how each element could be used to support your personal statement and interviews:

Curiositas – showing intellectual curiosity, passion for a subject area, love of learning, use of independent research, detailed planning, acting on feedback, reflecting and evaluating on your skills and performance, showing an ability to tackle large projects, organising your time, keeping to deadlines, working with an academic supervisor or showing creativity in creating an artefact.

Civitas – commitment to a cause or goal, importance of volunteering and helping others, giving up your time, organisation in fulfilling a role, working as part of a team to achieve a common goal, helping to improve something, raising awareness of a particular cause, helping others to learn or develop, representing an organisation or charity, making an impact on people’s lives in the school or local community.

Conatus – showing courage to challenge yourself, showing resilience and perseverance to achieve something new, overcoming setbacks or failure, managing your time and multiple responsibilities, showing creativity in creating or contributing to a project or competition, showing critical-thinking in knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are, working with others to achieve a goal, leading a team or group, showing enterprise and pro-activeness in starting something new, or organising a team or event.more developed than others.