#3 Personal Statements!

Here are 10 top tips for writing your personal statement! They aren't in any particular order, but I hope they help! Let me know if you want to ask any other questions :)



1- Start with a unique statement about yourself or your course – DON’T start with “from a young age I have always been passionate about _____” it sounds dull and robotic!


2- Bear in mind the word/character count. It is not your choice weather they count characters or words, it’s whichever it reaches first! So be prepared to reword and cut!


3- Put in extra-curricular but not too much – otherwise it will seem like you have too many interests, no focus and no time to study! Brain storm them and decide what qualities they give you and include the most relevant ones, say what you have gained from them and how this has changed you and may contribute to your future e.g. if you help out with young children at a club, it may have made you decide you want to be a teacher or a children’s nurse!


4- Re-draft like hell, make use of your head of year, form teachers, subject teachers, family and friends as all are valuable! (I did 7 drafts – I think my head of year got rather sick of them!But it’s their job to help you!)


5- Don't listen to people who tell you the universities don't read them - make it as good as possible, just in case! Most universities probably do read them!


6- Include things which make you seem like you will be a valuable member of university society - e.g I added that I contribute to a local magazine in articles, design and photography, as well as organising events through the same company – this suggests I may become a member of relevant societies and bring skills to the university.


7- Yep, embellish a bit to stand out, but don't lie. – If you are going for interview, you need to know your PS inside out!


8- Show interest in particular areas of your subject. Don’t align it to just one course if you can help it, so make sure what you’re talking about is covered in all of the courses you’re applying to, otherwise they will wonder why you are applying to them when they don’t offer it!


9- Say what you look forward to/ where you hope to do, this shows passion (no! Not the P word! Try interest, intrigued by and various alternatives! PASSION is a last resort!) and commitment to your subject, studying and future – they want successful alumni!


10- Show how you have already expanded your interest in the subject you are going to study e.g. magazines, TV, Books, clubs, work experience.

#2 Choices at the end of Year 12

So, all of your AS exams are done - its time to celebrate and put your feet up! - for about a week. Then you need to get into gear for choosing your uni or college (or neither, but if so, why are you reading a blog about going from Sixth Form to University?!)
So, when you pick your uni, before you order any prospectuses, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself. This is the order I asked them in, but it will vary from person to person:

1. How far away from home do I want to be? Do you want to be close by so you can pop home every weekend? If so, don't even bother looking at anywhere more than and hour and a half's train journey away just in case you fall in love with it but then don't want to go because its too far away (also check the open uni! They have so many courses on offer, you can go at your own pace and you can have a regular job at the same time!). Do you want to get as far away as possible? How far? Abroad (also take into account that almost every uni has a year abroad option for your 2nd year) or just in the same country. Or do you really not care where your uni is at all (like me).
2. What course do you want to do? For me I always knew; Geography. Obviously some people have no clue - In this case I would write a list of things you are interested in that you have or haven't studied before - if there are lots consider a joint degree - and type these into the UCAS course finder http://search.ucas.com/ . Also make sure you are looking for the right kind of course. If you have no prior degree you look for Undergraduate! Remember if there are two different courses you like, you might be able to do them as a joint course!
3. Just how easily can I get home from the different unis? Very important. Who wants to lug a suitcase across 3 rail changes when you go back for Christmas! Check out http://www.thetrainline.com/?href=ppcg_trainline&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_ev=click&gclid=COT16JLE6bcCFVMetAode0sAmQ for how many changes you might face! Remember, some unis even have their own train station! Also, if you drive and will take a car to uni, even if not until year 2 or 3, see how easy it is to drive there!
4. What are the entry requirements? Check this before you look at a course. If you are predicted BBC you don't want to fall in love with a course wanting AAB (believe me, I've been there). Look at a good range of universities within realistic reach and a few above what you expect to get, and a few below just to safety net yourself - or you'll end up like me on AS results day, realising I had only really looked at universities which wanted A-- when I wasn't at all likely to get an A in anything.

And when you've answered those, here are some more questions, to help you sift through the prospectuses! 

• Is the course accredited? Many courses are officially accredited by national organisations, making them look much better qualifications, and may mean you can get a shortcut to becoming a member of these national institutes or societies. e.g. Psychology or Geology. If there is a society in your field you already know about, their website may list accredited degrees.
• How long do I want to be there for?  A standard Bachelors degree is 3 years and a Masters is 4. for some qualifications (namely medicine, among others) some courses may be up to 5 years long - full time! There's also the opportunity to study part time if you want to!
• What modules are covered in the course? Is there one area you are interested in? For example one of my friends hoping to study English realised that one of her top universities only studied work from the Renaissance and after, whereas she was also interested in middle English, Chaucer and Beowulf! 
• What facilities are there? If you're an avid sportsperson, you don't want to end up somewhere with no gym/pool/pitch/stables!

Some Dos and Donn'ts:

• Don't discard somewhere just because you've heard something bad about the area. For example, I'm hoping to go to the University of Hull, and everyone seems to think the university is going to be horrible and I'm going to get burgled and raped just because there's a rough bit of town! Everywhere has a rough area, and campuses and student accommodation most likely have regular, if not 24/7 security!
• Do look at places just because your friends are! Don't choose them as a Firm choice just because your friends are, but its worth checking out places you might have missed!
• Do go to your local university fair! Even if you already think you've made up your mind, get more prospectuses! And there are ALWAYS free pens!
• Do try to narrow your universities down to about 6 or 7 before you book open days. Remember you have 5 choices on UCAS, so give yourself some leeway in case you just don't get the right feeling at the place which has the best course. You will get a feel when you visit the right place for you - you will know it!

For now, that it all I can think of. Happy Prospectus ordering and I hope I've helped :)

#1 Mid A2 Exams

Bonjour?

Obviously, while procrastinating from doing my A2 exams, I've been beginning to get rather excited about uni and ,naturally, have been googling, you-tubing etc to find out what I can about what to expect at uni...

So I thought - wouldn't it be swell if someone put ALL of their uni experiences all in one place? From applying to graduating and finding a job, and that's what I hope to do!
Obviously, I'm starting a bit late now, to write about my UCAS application and Uni offers as it all happens, but hopefully I will be able to give you (if there is a 'you' reading this) an idea of what it was like and some top tips (especially for CV and Personal Statement Building and writing).

Obviously at the moment it's not really the right time to start blogging and the idea is still in it's infancy, but if you bare with me, once my exams are over (aka next week), I will start from where I was this time last year.
If this helps just one person, I'll be happy :)

Chow xx