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Sixth form wants a first draft of my personnel statement for uni next year, 4000 words by next friday.
Though I think I want to take multimedia tech at uni,
But I'm finding it difficult on where about to start and what to actually put in my Personnel statement...
Key points that I got hammered into me when I did mine:
Avoid saying "I" and display a love for the subject you wish to take.
I also talked about my personal interests in real life and connected them into the degree course I wished to take. I found it really, really difficult to begin with and put it off for so long, but by the end it all flowed together perfectly and it went quite well :) I'll see if I can find it :)
Also 4000 words isn't needed. There's a word limit for UCAS, and I can't remember it exactly but it's more near 2,000. You have to be under the count, it's about 1 page on MS Word.
Oh I thought It was 4000 unless I've got confused... We got told at the start Its best two go over count and the work down to make it shorter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kardan
It probably is best to go over, I think everyone started by going over and most people struggled to get it short enough. I've found my final draft if you'd like to read it, but make sure youdon't copy it, UCAS have advanced detection systems and you'll get kicked out basically :PQuote:
Originally Posted by iBlueBox
We were told to have a 70/30 split: talk about your education for 70% of the statement, then the remaining 30% should be about your personal life, extra-curricular activities, and hobbies. I managed to get all five offers so it can't have been that bad! You could start with a general statement about multimedia tech. The first sentence should grab the admissions tutor's attention, so sing their praises about the subject and explain why it's important in society. Keep it brief, just a couple of sentences at the most.
Then move on to talking about yourself... it doesn't matter how big-headed you sound.. you want the offer. Go through each of your A-Level subjects and explain how they each contribute to multimedia tech: there will be a link somewhere. For example, I was able to link Psychology and Sociology to English Language by talking about Child Language Acquisition, namedropping several theorists to show I'm aware of their work. Some universities may require you to have an interview, so it's important you can discuss everything you mention. It may be a good idea to read a book about the topic too, then you can have a good conversation and know exactly what to say if they talk to you about it. All this should be the bulk of your statement.
The remainder should be slightly more personal. Explain how your personal life contributes to an understanding of multimedia tech. For example, I discussed the work experience I'd carried out at newspapers; the contributions I've made to a couple of publications; and my overall interest in current affairs and news. Any extra-curricular activities at school is good to mention too... perhaps you're in a debating society or even enjoy walks on a weekend. Make yourself seem like an all-round nice guy - they want a good student, not a couch potato. It's important to strike the balance.
I'd be happy to take a look through once you've written it, if you'd like! :)
Just read the above posts... it's 4,000 characters (not words!) or 47 lines of text... whichever comes first. Beware that blank lines and spaces count towards the total too. :)
I have to do mine too; my first draft was meant to be done before the holidays but I put it off. By the way, it's a personal statement. :P
4000 words is definitely waaaay over.
Mostly talk about the course and the passion you have for the subject, they like that. Although if you're applying for different courses/places don't make it specific to one course or university.
To begin with most people went over the word count but you realise that you're rambling quite a bit and cut stuff out, which can be hard when you really want to explain things to the reader.
Go through your draft and highlight how many 'I's are it it. Mine had around 30, and I know people had more. You want to cut it down to a maximum of 10 (or so we were told). It is possible, but can get annoying.
If you have a job, are on any sports teams, in any clubs, any volunteer work, extra curricular (you get the idea) cram it all in and relate it to your chosen course. Obviously some of it you can't, for example you couldn't link playing tennis to a love of English Literature. But try to tie it into your chosen course where you can.
Grammar and spelling are crucial. Always type your course name with a capital letter and try to use its full name. I had this problem, I was told to keep writing 'Mathematics,' but I never say 'Mathematics,' I just say, 'Maths.' So, I felt that didn't flow as well.
Get your tutors to read through it for you. I'm not sure how good and idea peer assessing is, it depends if your peers are likely to copy you or if you're likely to get 'bad' ideas from others that may seem good at the time. Although, come to think of it, I helped my boyfriend and a few others with theirs once I'd finished mine.
Keep correcting it until everyone who reads it agrees it is finished. I ended up with 12 drafts of mine :P It may seem tedious but you'll feel strangely proud of it when it's done and you know it's sent off and your uni process begins :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charz777
Thanks!
They want a first draft in on the 14th September so my aim was around to get 500 words of it done each day.
The only thing that bugs me is writing about the course, because I have to take in consideration the unis who offer the course.
Also would it be good to include books you have read about the course or books about influential people in the industry?
I'd say it's a good idea to include books and influential people. It demonstrates independant study outside of college and a mature attitude to learning. If you can say why someone has inspired you personally, or why you like their style of work, that will look good too :)Quote:
Originally Posted by iBlueBox
Please please please do not write 4000 words :P the limit is by characters including spaces and punctuation, and if you go over then it's not that it will count against you in some way, it's the fact that it literally will not all go into the box as it's programmed to accept a certain maximum. Also it's important to note the word maximum - you absolutely do not need to to get as close to 4000 characters as possible if it means that you're rambling or sounding ridiculous!
Depending on the course, the style of writing may or may not matter. For the more classically academical lines like sciences or English you'll obviously want to adopt a somewhat professional tone, but for more artsy and creative courses it's actually far more important to type as you speak (keeping it legible of course) as it will help to let them know at least a small part of your personality along with your credentials, and considering the people who read these statements will get through several several thousands in their careers, they're more likely to remember you and see you as a stand-out applicant if your statement doesn't read like an essay drone.
Obviously I don't know what extracurricular stuff you get up to if any, but if there's not a lot then LIE. Not outright by saying that you're an amateur astronaut with 6 Olympic gold medals, but stretch mundane realities into seemingly interesting personality traits - you use Habbo and HxF, therefore "I actively participate in a range of online communities which emphasise largely on social interaction and contemporary political debate" ;) Learning to spew absolute ** is crucial to pretty much all achievement in life, so it's definitely worth getting the practice in
The only thing that I'm going to prob struggle on is linking History , Philosophy & Ethics to multimedia technology
dude its not 4000 words, just characters (including spaces).Quote:
Originally Posted by iBlueBox
If you narrow it down to 4 paragraphs:
1. Why you want to do the course.
2. Why the subjects you take fit the course you want to do
3. What you have done outside of school ie to gain experience in the field.
4. What makes you ideal for the course/ what kind of person you are.
also, I know it might sound weak, but if you want to put something about how history has allowed to you gain a better grasp and understanding of the world and are fascinated by the history of the advancements in technology, especially the multimedia side. Philosophy & Ethics I never did, so I can't really think of anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by iBlueBox
But BEST OF LUCK!
I hope this helps (: Best of luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teabags
I've prob got mixed up about the whole 4000 thing then,
I was thinking for Philosophy & Ethics just to mention the ethics of computing today and the effects among society for example how people are becoming more social online leading to less being social offline.
I found that looking at examples will really help. I made sure the examples I looked at weren't for my subject though, so I didn't directly copy, but just so I could formulate my ideas somewhat.Quote:
Originally Posted by iBlueBox
Another potential point to make is that the internet has led to a new type of crime: cyber-crime. The advanced world has led to crimes on the internet (hacking, credit card fraud, etc) which does question the ethics of it. It's a far-fetched point, but I talked about it in my General Studies exam I think! :P
deep general studies Mat. I'd probably end up putting that in.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathew
Probably a bit sad but I didn't mind the General Studies exam that much. One of the questions was on tuition fees... I ended up having a huge rant at the examiner for asking such a left-wing leading question, accusing them of trying to yield a specific response and making it clear I wasn't prepared to provide them with it! I found I could put quite a lot of Sociology in there (studied family, education, religion, and crime), so the ideas and respective theorists just came naturally. I think other people regarded the exam as a general knowledge quiz more than anything else... :P!Quote:
Originally Posted by Teabags
pretty sure I'd prefer reading about how the liberal + left-wing markers biases ruin exams. Much more interesting than being told how we should all strive for peace and equality. Big up the sociology.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathew
EDIT: how'd it go? Did the examiners approve?
Hahaha, quite right. I ended up getting a B and an A in Units 3+4, although I can't remember which one had the tuition fee question in. It wouldn't surprise me if they took a dislike and marked it down. Luckily it was an A overall... I dread to think what the examiners wrote in the margins though. :PQuote:
Originally Posted by Teabags
Inconstant communists! love the aggravation. Congrats on the A though. ^Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathew
Shame that only a few uni's take it, like Sheffield. General studies grades should decide where about's you are on the political spectrum - you fascist ;)
I can't work out whether it's cynical to say the world is unfair... or whether it's just a depressing hard truth. What's an issue if you can't laugh about it, eh? Thank you! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Teabags
I was quite surprised when I found out that Lancaster University accepted it... we even had to double check by giving them a call! I do quite like the sound of your new grading there though... and I can also see that we're getting dangerously close to Godwin's Law. I will refrain from finishing it off completely!
4,000 words? I got in to mine with about 200
I might be a bit late for this as its thursday, buy try talking historically about multimedia, for example you could include the projector (the old box that you put the acetate sheets on), vcr, dvd, the historal evolution of it such as if the lightbulb was never invented chances are we'd barely have any tech at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by iBlueBox