How to Write a Winning UCAS Personal Statement

241 Pages·2010·8.36 MB·English

by  Ian Stannard

HOW TO WRITE HOW TO WRITE
HOW TO WRITE
A WINNING A WINNING A WINNING
UCAS PERSONAL
UCAS PERSONAL UCAS PERSONAL
STATEMENT an Stannard is the Head of Careers and Higher
This new guide provides students with STATEMENT STATEMENT Education at Christ’s Hospital School in
I Sussex, an independent mixed boarding
invaluable frst-hand guidance on how to
Stuck on how to start your UCAS personal statement? school which sends 95% of pupils a year to higher
impress university admissions tutors and create Need to know how to wow admissions tutors?
education. Ian is responsible for the school’s UCAS,
a personal statement that will help them win a
CUKAS, Oxbridge and overseas applications.
place at the university of their choice. Writing a brilliant UCAS personal statement is vital to win you a place on the
course of your choice; you need to get it perfect to beat the competition!
This best-selling guide is full of advice straight from the admissions tutors
themselves ensuring you keep clear of the rejection pile to secure your
Other titles in dream place at uni.
the series:
Find out:
W hat a winning personal statement W hich classic mistakes you
looks like – and how to write one MUST avoid
H ow to tailor the perfect personal T he best way to show off
statement for your chosen subject your skills.
INSIDER’S GUIDE
TO APPLYING TO
UNIVERSITY This book is an absolute must-read for anyone
PISrBicNe: £91728.-919-84455-181-1 wanting to write a winning UCAS personal £12.99
statement and get onto a fantastic university
course of their choice.
GETTING INTO
THE UK’S BEST
UNIVERSITIES
& COURSES
ISBN: 978-1-84455-179-8
Price: £12.99
SECOND EDITION IAN STANNARD
HOW TO WRITE A WINNING
UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT
HOW TO WRITE A
WINNING UCAS
PERSONAL STATEMENT
IAN STANNARD
2ND EDITION
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How to Write a Winning UCAS Personal Statement
This second edition published in 2010 by Trotman Publishing, an imprint
of Crimson Publishing, Westminster House, Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey
TW9 2ND
© Trotman Publishing 2008, 2010
First edition published 2008
Reprinted 2009, twice
Author: Ian Stannard
Designed by Andy Prior
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-84455-225-2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic and
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of
Trotman Publishing.
Typeset by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd
Printed and bound by in Italy by LEGo SpA
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HOW TO WRITE A
WINNING UCAS
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Contents
PREFACE v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii
PART ONE Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE No short cuts! 7
CHAPTER TWO Why go to university in the fi rst place? 13
CHAPTER THREE What course to study and where? 25
CHAPTER FOUR Your Personal Statement: getting started 31
CHAPTER FIVE How to avoid a poor Personal Statement 37
CHAPTER SIX The fi rst section: your choice of subject 43
CHAPTER SEVEN T he second section: the subjects you are
currently studying 51
CHAPTER EIGHT T he third section: your extracurricular
interests and achievements 55
CHAPTER NINE The fi nal polish 59
CHAPTER TEN CUKAS: How to apply to music
conservatoires 61
CHAPTER ELEVEN Answers to frequently asked questions 67
iii
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HOW TO WRITE A WINNING UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT
PART TWO Academic profi les 75
Acounting 76
American studies 81
Archaeology and anthropology 88
Biological sciences 90
Business, banking, management and
actuarial science 95
Classics 100
Computer science 106
Drama and theatre studies 110
Engineering (civil) 114
English 118
Environmental science 122
Fine art and art foundation 127
Geography 134
Geology 139
History 145
Journalism 148
Law 153
Mathematics 157
Medicine 160
Midwifery 164
Modern languages 168
Music 172
Nursing 175
Oceanography 179
Performing arts 184
Philosophy 189
Physics 191
Physiotherapy 197
Podiatry 201
Psychology 206
Sports and exercise science 212
Theatre and performance design and
technology 216
Tourism management 221
Veterinary science 223
PART THREE Further information 227
Good university guides 228
Alternative guides 229
General guides to subjects and course
requirements 229
Websites 230
iv
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PREFACE
ince the fi rst edition of this book was published the world of higher
education has moved on and the world has experienced the most
S
signifi cant global recession since the 1930s. A surge in university
applications is putting extra pressure on applicants to achieve top grades in their
exams. In the last application cycle there was an 8% increase, numbering about
42,000 students, in applications for full-time study at university – the biggest
rise in eight years. The recession and rising unemployment were cited as prime
factors in the late surge. The high number of applications will mean that pupils
who are offered places on popular courses, or at prestigious universities, who
do not attain their predicted grades will have less room for manoeuvre. It also
means that the quality of the application will need to be fi rst class in order to
secure an offer in the fi rst place.
2010 will also see the introduction of the new A* mark at A level. This has been
introduced to help the universities discriminate between able and very able
students. Too many students are now leaving with A grades, making the job of
choosing the best students all the more diffi cult at top universities.
It remains the case that the Personal Statement is a pivotal part of any good
application and for that reason the advice in this book has been updated to
ensure that all the inside information is current and accurate. We have added
journalism to the list of subject profi les, together with accounting, history of art,
and sports science, and included a new FAQ section which will help anyone who
is fi lling in the new-style UCAS application form.
I was delighted at the success of the fi rst edition and hope that this updated
edition builds upon that success and helps you gain the place at university that
you covet.
v
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HOW TO WRITE A WINNING UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT
It has been a privilege to work so closely with hundreds of young aspiring
undergraduates over the last decade. Education reforms have come and gone,
yet the essential principles of success remain the same. If you work hard at
what you enjoy, take care to present yourself enthusiastically and articulately,
and take the time to think about what you want from life, you will not go
far wrong. Applying to university is not an exact science. Choices about
where to study, what to study and whether to study are essentially personal.
These personal choices will be infl uenced by your parents’ aspirations, your
background, your friends and your teachers. However, when push comes to
shove, the choices you make are your own and your need to take responsibility
for them.
You therefore need to be informed. This information also needs to be informed
by current experience and reality, not ‘what it was like in my day’! This is the
purpose of this book and why I felt moved to write it. It will help you write a good
Personal Statement and so present a good winning application to a university
admissions panel. The advice in it is current and – importantly – driven by the
experts, the admissions tutors who will read your application. They are the
‘gatekeepers’ who ultimately decide your fate. It is their views that count most in
this competitive process.
My own views have been coloured by working at one of the UK’s ancient
schools, Christ’s Hospital, for the last decade or so. Although it is an
independent school, with able students, it remains one of the few ‘needs blind’
public schools in the UK. If we assess that a pupil has potential for greater
things, we take that pupil and ask the parents to pay a fee that is commensurate
with their ability to pay, which means that some may pay nothing. This is
because the school is allied to one of the oldest educational charities in the UK
and still remains true to its ethos, an ethos that was developed during the reign
of Edward VI. As a result I teach pupils from all walks of life. Some are fi rst-time
applicants from their family to seek higher education and tick all the ‘widening
participation’ boxes. Others are sons or daughters of Oxford graduates who
bring their own unique problems to solve.
This mix has meant that I have dealt with the full range of issues that can
arise in this area and have an idea what it is students and parents new to this
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PREFACE
process want and need to know. The Personal Statement is for many the
scariest part of the application. It need not be so and this book will help to ease
you through this part of the form so that you end up with something of which
you can be proud.
Ian Stannard
March 2010
vii
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
would like to thank a variety of people who have assisted me in the
completion of this new edition. Writing is a process that I love but it is
I
collaborative and without that collaboration would be impossible.
Let me start with the universities that have offered of their time and support.
One of the major advantages that this book has is that it is written using material
provided by the supplier – namely the departments who look to recruit new
undergraduates. This inside knowledge means that it is not just about what
I think but also about what they think too, which is far more important! Each
department is mentioned by name in the book but I would like to thank Caroline
Dimbleby at Essex in particular for her help. I am also grateful to Godfrey
Cooper, my father-in-law, whose advice and proofreading is most gratefully
received and to Alison Yates and her team at Trotman whose patience and
professionalism makes the process far less stressful.
Finally, thanks to my wife, Jenny, and two children, Harry and Emily, to whom
this book is dedicated, who put up with me working late at night and playing
with the computer when I could be doing something else! Without Jenny’s
support in particular none of this would be possible.
viii
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PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
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