Personal Statements Personal statements Overview of admissions personal

Personal Statements

Personal statements • Overview of admissions & personal statements • Potential pitfalls • Structure of personal statement • Example • Summary

Half of our applications are for twelve courses.

How is the personal statement used?

GCSES PREDICTED GRADES PERSONAL STATEMENT TEACHERS’ REFERENCE ADMISSIONS TESTS INTERVIEWS CONTEXTUAL DATA

One statement 47 lines/4000 characters Motivation and suitability

Enthusiasm Understandin g

Academically

ENJOYMENT

Academic engagement outside of the curriculum: • Summer schools/enrichment programmes • Lectures • Exhibitions • Wider reading • Trips and visits • Relevant work experience/volunteering

Advice for BTEC and Access learners: • Vital to demonstrate their interest in their chosen university course, and engaging with the subject above and beyond their course with extra reading, events, online resources work experience, etc. • If they can link these extra activities to specific themes or modules on their university course, even better. .

Advice for BTEC and Access learners: • Don’t be tempted to describe the course structure or content • If they have been studying an intense one year Access course, have returned to education, mention balancing work/family and study, and/or doing ‘extra’ subjects to meet requirements • This demonstrates great commitment to their studies, work/life balance, independent study and thinking etc. , which they can reflect on and be proud of • Even better if they can link into how this has prepared them for the intensity of university level study

Personal statements • Overview of admissions & personal statements • Potential pitfalls • Structure of personal statement • Example • Summary

Potential Pitfalls:

Potential Pitfalls: Thesaurus Original: I remember how excited I was when my mother told me there was a kid my age moving into the old brick house, the one Mr. Bukowski died in Thesaurus’d I recall how energized I was when my matriarch informed me there was an adolescent my maturity propelling into the aged brick dwelling, the one Mr. Bukowski expired in

Potential Pitfalls: Grammar “Let’s eat Grandma” Or “Let’s eat, Grandma”

Potential Pitfalls: Exaggeration “I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was in the womb”

Potential Pitfalls: Plagiarism

Potential Pitfalls: Plagiarism “Ever since I accidentally burnt holes in my pyjamas after experimenting with a chemistry set on my eighth birthday, I have always had a passion for science. ” 234

Potential Pitfalls: Overloading Be selective, critical and analytical – don’t cram everything in – expand, enrich, improve Write clearly and with integrity

Potential Pitfalls: Overloading I have won several consecutive academic awards, keenly listened to the BBC World Service, NBC Meet the Press and In Our Time podcasts, and avidly read broadsheets daily. Vs.

Potential Pitfalls: Overloading I participate in charity fundraising; competing in events to raise money for the British Heart Foundation has allowed me to lead by example in my school's fundraising efforts. Physical fitness helps me to stay focused during heavy workloads.

Personal statements • Overview of admissions & personal statements • Potential pitfalls • Structure of personal statement • Example • Summary

Personal Statement § § Why do you want to study the subject? What do you currently enjoy in your A-level studies Any outside reading/ interest in the subject Any (ideally relevant) work experience/voluntary work/ clubs § Spare time

Why do you want to study the subject? What do you currently enjoy in your studies? Any outside reading/ interest in the subject Any relevant work experience/ voluntary work/ clubs/ spare time activities Conclusion

Personal statements • Overview of admissions & personal statements • Potential pitfalls • Structure of personal statement • Example • Summary

“I think that being committed to my community is important for someone who wants to be a dentist, so for a year now I’ve been a peer mentor to pupils studying GCSE English at my school, and I’m also an elected member of the school council. These roles have taught me about positions of trust, and about being responsible for others. That means being sensitive to a specific pupil’s learning needs or, as a member of the school council, being on time, articulate and organised so that I can attend board meetings to represent the voice of my fellow students in a fair and professional way. ”

Specifics What did you do? Purpose Detail Why did you do the activity? Give details of your experience Meaning Thinking about and learning from the experience

Purpose, specifics, detail, meaning “I think that being committed to my community is important for someone who wants to be a dentist, so for a year now I’ve been a peer mentor to pupils studying GCSE English at my school, and I’m also an elected member of the school council. These roles have taught me about positions of trust, and about being responsible for others. That means being sensitive to a specific pupil’s learning needs or, as a member of the school council, being on time, articulate and organised so that I can attend board meetings to represent the voice of

“To facilitate my scientific interests I completed a diverse range of work experience. Firstly, to gain an understanding of the healthcare profession, I worked as part of a multidisciplinary team at a GP surgery. I had direct experience of dealing with patients whilst shadowing a GP during visits to residential homes. This provided an insight into the complexity and compassion of the medical profession in easing pain in the terminally ill. Frequently, the aging population's needs are overlooked resulting in loneliness, a silent killer of the elderly, thus I noted how each patient required tailored holistic care. ”

Specifics What did you do? Purpose Detail Why did you do the activity? Give details of your experience Meaning Thinking about and learning from the experience

Purpose, specifics, detail, meaning “To facilitate my scientific interests I completed a diverse range of work experience. Firstly, to gain an understanding of the healthcare profession, I worked as part of a multidisciplinary team at a GP surgery. I had direct experience of dealing with patients whilst shadowing a GP during visits to residential homes. This provided an insight into the complexity and compassion of the medical profession in easing pain in the terminally ill. Frequently, the aging population's needs are overlooked resulting in loneliness, a silent killer of the elderly, thus I noted how each patient

Assessing a personal statement

Personal Statement: Feedback + Good Structure + Evidence of motivation + Develops understanding through wider reading

Personal Statement: Feedback - Missed opportunity to expand - Slightly list-like towards the end

Personal statements • Overview of admissions & personal statements • Potential pitfalls • Structure of personal statement • Example • Summary

Summary • Still required and used • Motivation and enthusiasm • Positivity • Quality over quantity • Reflect

email: luke. chapman@kcl. ac. uk tweet: @kclwp