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Personal Statements
UK/EU Student Recruitment Team study@surrey.ac.uk
SLIDE 2 #universityofsurrey 2
Central application service Only method
UK degree programmes 50,000 courses at 395 providers
Restrictions: Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry – Oxford OR Cambridge
Apply for up to 5 universities
What is UCAS?
SLIDE 3 Applying
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» Personal Details » Additional Information (UK applicants
» Choices » Education » Employment » Personal Statement » Teachers’ reference
SLIDE 4 What is the Personal Statement?
- A key element of the UCAS application
- A statement of 4000 characters
- One statement for five choices
- A student’s initial chance to ‘sell’ themselves
to their chosen institutions
- Helps applicants ‘stand out’
- Contributes to a decision whether to
interview or make offer
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Why is the Personal Statement important?
Demonstrates Focus Course Appreciation Personality Interviews
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When is the Personal Statement MOST Important?
Competition Niche Need for knowledge
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What Should a Personal Statement Contain?
Reasons for choosing the course Personal extra- curricular Subject specific & course knowledge
SLIDE 8 Why Have You Chosen This Course?
Deeper interests - be specific Your skills Enjoyment
Work experience Theory into practice Theory into practice
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Subject Specific
Relevant Subjects Motivation Qualifications Further Reading Taster Days EPQ Summer Schools
SLIDE 10 Extra-Curricular
Sports clubs Positions
responsibility Societies Volunteering Relevant work experience
SLIDE 11 Making it relevant – not just a list!
Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences
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Action
“I spent two weeks doing an internship at GlaxoSmithKline in the summer” What is it that you do?
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Benefit
“From this, I developed a deeper understanding of the drug development process, from conception to production” How has this helped you?
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Course relevance
“Having an understanding of how drugs are developed will be a useful foundation for the pharmacology modules within the Biochemistry degree.”
Make it relevant
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I am currently studying a BTEC National Diploma in... (464 times)
The most overused opening sentences
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From a young age I have always been interested in ... (309 times)
The most overused opening sentences
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From an early age I have always been interested in ... (292 times)
The most overused opening sentences
SLIDE 18 Nursing is a very challenging and demanding career … (275 times) For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with (196 times) "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only” ... (189 times) Nursing is a profession I have always looked upon with ... (178 times) For as long as I can remember I have been interested in ... (166 times) I am an International Academy student and have been studying since ... (141 times) Academically, I have always been a very determined and .. (138 times)
The most overused opening sentences
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Positive Language
Achieved Collaborated Fulfilled Inspired Pioneered Explored Enthusiastic Imagined Demonstrated
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Do’s – Advice for students
Use the ‘right’ language Draft Draft Draft Be sure of your choice! Make it relevant
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Don’ts – Advice for students Plagiarise
Over-share!
Rush …Forget to spell check
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True or false?
As mentioned before they are important and they do get read. Admittedly for some courses the emphasis on the PS is greater than for others.
The Personal Statement could make a direct difference to whether a student gets an offer or not!
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True or false?
A poor personal statement is more likely to result in a rejection.
SLIDE 24 True or false?
Despite a wealth of YouTube personalities offering to write assignments and documents for you – it is not a good idea, it is not their
caught out and the UCAS plagiarising technology may well pick up on anomalies = game over!
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True or false?
Practice makes perfect. Use the resources available to guide your students to create a Personal statement that truly reflects them and their study ambition.
SLIDE 26 True or false?
Poor grammar, badly laid
mistakes are all bugbears
structured sentences and paragraphs make for a more pleasurable read and demonstrate focus and direction in the text.
SLIDE 27 Doing your research
#uniofsurrey 28
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study@surrey.ac.uk
