A Tutor’s Guide to Personal Statements ...continued...
The style, content, spelling, punctuation and grammatical correctness of the student’s personal statement gives the admissions tutors an idea of the student’s written communication skills and their ability to express information and ideas clearly. There is no one accepted structure, but a good personal statement includes the following:
Course Choice
This is the part that admissions tutors are most interested in and should form the majority of the personal statement. Students should give clear and valid reasons for applying for a course and why they will be a good student on the course. It will not be enough for students just to say they are interested in it. They need to say which aspects interest them and why. They should demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the subject beyond their current studies which will in turn demonstrate their interest and enthusiasm for the course. Information on course choice should contain most of the following: • Why they enjoy the subject. • How they first became interested in the subject. • Which parts of the subject they are particularly interested in and why. • Which areas of the subject they are particularly looking forward to studying in greater depth. • Any relevant modules / essays / topics previously studied. • Any additional reading they have done around the subject outside of their studies at college. • Any involvement in masterclasses, summer schools, Gifted and Talented programmes or other enrichment or extension activities. • What particular subject related skills they have and how they got them. • How the course will build upon what they are studying at college. Although students can apply to up to five courses, they will only submit one personal statement. If students have inconsistent course choices, for example if they are applying for a number of unrelated degree programmes, writing about course choice becomes almost impossible. Where this happens students need to look at their reasons for their course choices and what has attracted them to each one. If they are interested in a number of disciplines, they should look to see if there are courses that combine them all. If they are interested in a niche subject offered by a handful of institutions, they should look at related courses within the subject area. If in doubt they should seek advice from a guidance worker or Connexions Personal Adviser. They can also contact the institution for guidance. It is essential that the personal statement relates to all admissions tutors that will read it rather than just the ‘first choice’ of the individual.
36
Career Aim
If the student has a particular career aim they should say what it is and how they think that the course can help them to achieve it. Students may also want to say how they first became interested in their chosen career. • What career do they have in mind? • What has made them want to follow this career? • How does the student’s course choice fit with their career aim? If the student does not have a clear career aim, they should focus their statement on their course choice.
Personal Skills and Qualities
It’s important that students mention the personal skills that they have that are relevant to the course and/or their intended career. As well as mentioning these it is vital that students back these up with solid examples. Vocational students have a wide range of skills that they develop on their Level 3 course such as; team work; communication skills; time management; project management; applied practical skills; self motivation, organisation; dealing with continued assessment; as well as subject specific skills. All of which will be relevant to courses they will consider studying at HE.
Relevant Experience for the Course
Students should mention relevant work experience. This is particularly important for students applying for professions such as nursing, physiotherapy, teaching, social work, medicine, performing arts, art & design. They should explain what they did, skills learned/used, and say what insights they gained into their particular area of study or their chosen career. • How has any relevant work experience confirmed their interest in this subject/career? • What did they do for work experience and what skills did they gain from it? • What skills have they gained which show that they have the skills for university life? E.g. self motivation, self discipline, social skills etc. Some courses e.g. Diagnostic Radiography will require students to undertake specific work experience and submit a signed clinical report before applying.
Positions of Responsibility
Students should mention any recent positions of responsibility they have held, such as prefect, student governor, member of school or college council, as well as any part time work and responsibilities that they have undertaken. They should say what transferable skills they have gained from these positions such as problem solving, working with people, organisation or team working. If you are advising adult learners it is important that they draw up previous experiences whether they are from employment or their own personal life.
Hobbies and Interests
These help to give an impression of the student as a person. Students should point out how their hobbies and interests have contributed to the development of their skills or personal qualities and how these relate to their course choice or likely success at higher education. Students should stress any successes such as Duke of Edinburgh awards, representing the school in sport, taking part in school productions, music exams or community work.
Concluding Statement
The personal statement should end with a concluding statement to bring the admissions tutor’s attention back to the student’s course choice and their ability to succeed at higher education. Students need to be aware that when they apply online, the personal statements will be restricted to 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of text (including blank lines) so it’s important that the personal statement is concise and succinct.
Plagiarism
Students should avoid copying example personal statements that they find on the internet or from printed publications. UCAS have introduced a Similarity Detection Service to scan personal statements to see if they contain copied material from a library of personal statements within their system and sample statements from a variety of websites and other sources. Personal statements with a similarity level of 10% of more will be reviewed by members of the UCAS Similarity Detection Service who will notify the relevant HEIs and the student. Further information on the Similarity Detection System along with frequently asked questions relating to plagiarism and UCAS personal statements can be found at www.ucas.com/students/startapplication/apply/plagiarism