Student Blog

My personal statement journey

Applying to university? Then on top of your grades, admissions boards will be looking to your personal statement to decide whether they should make you an offer. Here, one of our tutors – and current university student – shares her experience and personal statement advice.

My first impressions

I found the process of registering myself as a university applicant a pretty daunting process. I was regularly hounded by my teachers about how far along I was with my UCAS application, before I even knew what it was! Then there was the issue of choosing my institutions and my degree course. Unfortunately you cannot apply for a completely different subject at each of your chosen universities, in the hope that your replies of ‘conditional’ or ‘unsuccessful’ force you to make a decision in the end.

Deciding on your course

There are also many things to consider when choosing your five institutions. You may be drawn to the location of the university, its prestige in the league tables, its excellent department for your chosen subject, or indeed how fun the nightlife is. I chose History at Durham mainly for the three former reasons (its nightlife is hardly cracking!). Whatever your reasoning, your attention must then turn to making yourself come across as the most credible candidate you can be: cue ‘bigging yourself up’ and being recollecting everything you have ever done that might make you sound like you deserve a place on your chosen course.

This is where the personal statement comes in. It is often the only additional source universities have to go on in the selection process, so the pressure is on for it to be incredible. 

What should I include in my personal statement?

The personal statement is an opportunity for you to sell yourself as an individual on one side of A4, without straying too far from the important points you need to address. Namely, how your previous academic journey will lend itself well to your course, what hobbies and interests you have outside your chosen academic career, what positions of responsibility you have held and how you have developed through these, as well as my personal favourite: why you want to study that particular course. This one is the opportunity for you to express your ‘passion’ for your subject (believe me, you will find it hard to avoid using that word) and convince the reader that you really do have a burning desire to study your chosen subject.

All in all, it can be difficult knowing what to include and what to leave out and you want to give a good impression to each intake selector. I think I redrafted mine six times! All MyTutor tutors have successfully written personal statements, and been accepted into top universities, so use us if you want help, advice, or even just proofreading! We might not be able to give you the place you want but we can definitely ensure that your completed personal statement sets you off in the right direction.

Written by Bryony Rose, a MyTutor tutor

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