You need to have a pretty good idea of what course you want to study before getting started on your personal statement. Generally personal statements are quite specific so if you decide to change the course you are applying for you would need to rewrite your personal statement.
Before you start remember this is a "personal" statement - i.e. it's about you, and there is no real right or wrong way to do it. You may find by choosing your own structure, and writing what you want to write about, gives a better picture of yourself to the reader than anyone else can.
UCAS advice Look at what Ucas wants in your statement.
Aims of the Personal statement-Many universities don't interview applicants, so the only information they have about you is your UCAS form. Most of the UCAS form only contains your details, the bits the universities are interested in is your grades, your references and your personal statement. The personal statement is the only bit you really have control over, so this is your chance to present a good image to the admissions tutor.
If you are applying to an oversubscribed university course, and everyone applying is likely to have good grades, the personal statement is the only thing that tells you apart from other applicants, so you want to try and make yours as good as possible.
When the admissions and subject tutors look at your personal statement, they are likely to be asking two main questions:
1. Do we want this student on this course? 2. Do we want this student at this university?
These can be broken down into a number of easier to answer questions:
Is the student suited to the course that they are applying for? Does the student have the necessary qualifications and qualities for the course? Is the student conscientious, hardworking and unlikely to drop out? Will the student do their best and cope with the demands of the course? Can the student work under pressure? Will the student be able to adjust to their new environment at university? What are their communication skills like? Are they dedicated to this course and have researched it well? Do they have a genuine interest in the subject and a desire to learn more about it?
These are the sort of questions you need to answer in your personal statement. Unfortunately you cannot answer them directly, you need to provide evidence.
Ultimately, admissions tutors are human too, and may well have hundreds of personal statements to shift through, so even if you think you've answered all these questions really well you may still be unlucky.
Now you have some idea of why you're writing a personal statement you need to think about what you're going to write in it. You don't need to start thinking about the wording or structure yet, just get down some ideas of the things you think you could put down.
The best way to do this is to use a set of headings and write bullet points about how you relate to these headings. Here are some headings to think about.
What you want to study at university and why Specific aspects of the courses that interest you Examples of coursework you have completed Practical work you have enjoyed Things you have read related to the subject area Work experience or voluntary work in this area Conferences you have attended Personal experiences which lead to the decision to take this subject Where you hope a degree in this subject will lead.
Experiences which show you are a reliable and responsible person Part-time job Business enterprise Community and charity work Sixth form committee Helping out at school events and open days. Young Enterprise, World Challenge, Duke of Edinburgh award, Asdan Award Debating societies and what you've gained from these experiences.
Your interests and skills What you like to do in your free time Sport and leisure activities Subjects you study which are not examined Musical instrument which you play Languages which you speak Prizes you have won or positions achieved in your interests
Why you're taking a Gap year (if you are) Why you want to take a gap year What you plan to do How this may relate to your course
Now take a look at some example personal statements– but NEVER copy anything!
On moving on day we will put these together and start getting the thing written!