Why do you need a personal statement?

Hi everyone. Quite a few people I've talked to recently are having trouble with their personal statement for university ( as we all have had ). They can be the most annoying things on the planet and do drive some people nuts (well, it certainly drove me nuts). So, I've decided to remind you all exactly why you need to do a personal statement. 

Hopefully you can look at this blog whilst you're drafting your statement and use it to remind you exactly why you're putting yourself through this pain. You won't regret it...honest :)

When a uni is sifting through the 1000's of applications it gets, it tends to look very much so at the personal statement. without the statement, your application could be the same as someone elses. Good grades, same course choice, good school etc. The statement is the only thing the uni can use to tell you apart from everyone else. they get an idea of your personality. (It's also a really good way for you to show off with your extra curricular activities, your interest in the subject and of course, your writing style. you want to show that you're capable of writing properly with full sentences etc. it's surprising the number of people that can't actually write very well.)

When you're doing your personal statement, you should be aiming to do at least a couple of drafts and try and get your friends and teachers to look over it for you. Don't let spelling mistakes or bad grammar slip in!

Hope this helps you guys. It was a nightmare when I was applying so I've tried to do a little guide for everyone to try and help you. Keep looking out for new posts! :)

Hot tips for your Personal Statement!

Personal statements are a pain to write, but hopefully these tips will help you :)

• When you've chosen a subject you want to study at uni, google '(your subject name) personal ststement' and a whole bunch should come up. you can then get ideas from all of them and see for yourself which ones are good or bad.

• Never copy anything from anyone's statement. UCAS have advanced software that can pick up on any plagiarism straight away.

• Always remember to explain everything. Don't just mention what extra curricular activities you do, you have to state them and then say what skills you've gained form them and how these skills could help you during the course.

• If you've read a book related to your course, it's always good to include it and mention what you've learned from it.

•  I personally  suggest starting off your statement with why you wnat to do the course.

•  Mention any voluntary work you've done.

• Don't do what some people did which was to use a thesaurus for every word. It's good to include some big words and sophisticated vocab but don't go overboard. You end up just sounding really strange.

I hope these tips are helpful. I applied for uni last september and should be starting this autumn and these tips seemed to work pretty well for me :) They're not outdated or anything so they should still be useful. you can always leave me a comment if you want any extra tips about specific things!

How to survive A levels

Going from GCSEs to A levels is a huge leap and not many people are prepared for it. Like so many others, I was one of the students that suffered to start with. I had done really well at GCSE but was getting really bad grades in my first few months of A levels.  Looking back on my time at sixth form I do wish that someone had given me a ‘how to survive A levels’ guide right at the start. Sadly, nobody did. So, I’ve decided to create one instead to try and help any students out there who are panicking about their grades. The difference between those that came out with A’s at the end and those that still came out with D’s, was how prepared they were to adapt to the new situation. Everyone was thrown into the deep end and those that succeeded, were the ones that quickly learned to swim. Here are my top tips.

• Firstly, make sure you choose subjects that you’re really interested in rather than subjects that everybody else seems to be doing. When the course does start to get tough, at least you’ll find it easier to bear and may actually enjoy the challenge.

• Secondly, organisation is crucial! If you stay on top of your workload you will be surprised at how easily you seem to be sailing through the course whilst others appear to be working all of the time! Try to do your work as soon as you get it. I worked through most of my free periods which meant that I actually had very little work to do at home. Make lists of all of the things you need to do so that you don’t miss anything out. Without my lists, I would have been completely lost!

• Thirdly, make revision notes as you go along. I know that everybody seems to say this, but doing it as you go along really helps in the long run. When exams roll around you will have saved yourself a lot of time and effort.

• Also, ask your teachers for help immediately if you find you don’t understand something. Don’t leave it for later because I can tell you, you will forget! That topic could come up on the exam. This was one very frustrating lesson that I had to learn.

• Finally, don’t worry too much if you start the year off badly as I can guarantee that you will improve! Even though it may not seem like it at first. I started off getting D’s and E’s but by the end of it, I was getting A’s!

The most important thing of all is to never give up. I desperately wanted to drop out during the first two months but my parents kept me going, which I’m glad they did. It does get easier as the year progresses as long as you don’t quit. You’ll be amazed at how much more organised you will become and you’ll be able to see yourself change as a person. Keep up a positive attitude and remember that the sun will still be shining at the end of it all. Good luck with your A levels!