| What UCAS Has to Say | | | | After all these, comes the style. It is a fact that the |
| “This is your chance to tell the universities and | | | | officer has to read a lot of entries and probably gets |
| colleges you have chosen why you are applying, and | | | | bored by his job. A statement with an eye-catching |
| why they should want you as a student.” This is | | | | style would almost unfailingly work. Short, idiomatic |
| what the official UCAS website says about a personal | | | | sentences with a bit of humour are usually a good |
| statement. It also promises “In many cases, | | | | combination. Too many quotes are not welcomed; the |
| applicants are not interviewed, so this may be your | | | | university prefers to hear you rather than the most |
| only chance to make the case for your admission.” | | | | famous novelist of your time or the greatest scientist. |
| The last academic year has seen a record rise in | | | | One can read up samples from the net, and it is |
| applications, despite a fee hike of £3,000. Given the | | | | actually suggested, but please do not copy these - you |
| emphasis laid by UCAS on the personal statement | | | | are calling in more trouble in the hope of saving |
| and the pivotal role it plays in granting admissions, | | | | yourself the trouble of writing the statement. Anything |
| thousands of students would be scouring the internet in | | | | that does not play on these lines is a bad statement |
| search of a perfect personal statement once again as | | | | and will not work out. |
| their sixth form exams get over. Many of them will not | | | | Specificity |
| pay attention to the fact that this ‘perfect’ and | | | | Just like each person needs a separate statement, so |
| tailor-made statement does not exist, despite what the | | | | does each subject. And in the case of certain |
| sites may say to lure them in. The very purpose of the | | | | universities, the same customisation is needed. Oxford, |
| personal statement is to grant a voice to the individual, | | | | East England, and Glasgow are very different as |
| and it fails if it is reduced to a matter of copy and | | | | universities. They have different foci, and their policies |
| paste. | | | | aren’t the same either. It is best to design separate |
| The Ingredients | | | | approaches for the top Oxbridge group, since each |
| What should go into a personal statement to make it | | | | university has made the effort to stand apart and |
| sound, sincere and set it apart from a false one? The | | | | create its own identity. |
| first factor is, of course, originality. If the admission | | | | As for subjects, needless to say, a chemistry student |
| officer recognises a set pattern or can see evidence | | | | and a fine arts student cannot possibly sound the |
| of copy-paste, the application would be rejected. So if | | | | same. Within a specialisation, a veterinary surgeon and |
| you really want to get in there, you will have to say so, | | | | a student of medicine would also have separate |
| and sound like yourself. As a UCAS spokesman | | | | statements. Even if you do share your friend’s |
| pointed out recently, while speaking on this issue, they | | | | interests, hobbies and inspirations, it is best not to share |
| are not on the look-out for brilliant students, but rather | | | | the personal statement. A specific approach towards |
| those who seem to have a genuine passion for their | | | | a subject, with a justifiable interest in specialisation, but |
| subject matter. This is something that varies from | | | | the ability and openness to change one’s decision |
| person to person because all of us have different | | | | as part of the learning process – this is a summary |
| ways of expressing ourselves. | | | | of what an admission officer is looking for. This part of |
| The next requirement is clarity. UCAS officers are not | | | | the statement is tricky and has to be handled with a |
| on the look-out for Shakespeare. But they would | | | | sense of balance. |
| appreciate it if the statement is purposeful, direct and | | | | A Warning |
| written in simple, crisp English. To achieve this, the | | | | UCAS had commissioned CFL Software |
| purpose should first be clear in the mind of the | | | | Development to do a survey of personal statements |
| applicant himself, and then communication will not be a | | | | before the 15th October deadline in medicine, dentistry |
| bar anymore. | | | | and veterinary science applications for Oxbridge |
| There is also the matter of grammar. A student about | | | | universities. The findings – one-twentieth had copied |
| to enter higher education is really not expected to | | | | from a free website and the same sample statement. |
| make the kind of mistakes that a school kid would. | | | | Since they had blithely used the same sentences, they |
| Grammatical, syntactical and spelling errors are not | | | | were easily caught. As the deadline drew nearer, the |
| digested well by admission officers anywhere. | | | | number of these copied applications increased. Most |
| The fourth important factor is that elusive thing known | | | | of it came as a conclusion to the statement or in the |
| as a personal touch. It is a better idea to illustrate the | | | | section where the candidate needs to state the |
| statement with incidents from your life than Sir Isaac | | | | reasons for taking up the subject. The warning – |
| Newton’s, even if you are deeply interested in | | | | UCAS has decided to double the size of its fraudulent |
| studying about gravity. This is where the personal | | | | applications verification unit. |
| statement begins to stand out, and an honestly | | | | So, if you are on the look-out for that perfect personal |
| interested student stands apart from the rest. | | | | statement, search your own mind first. |