For people who just finished Year 12, who could connect?

The blank word document. The continuously blinking typing cursor reappearing and disappearing on the page as your mind races through some key competencies and traits that your Careers mentor is drumming into your mind since Year seven.

The dreaded UCAS Personal Statement.

A daunting 4000 character essay about…you.

A proverbial showcase for all your achievements and passions within a specific course.

What lies within will be the secret to crafting the most perfect personal statement, containing help and advice from offer holders of Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, and a plethora of many other esteemed universities.

This’s the guide I wish I’d when I went to create the very own Personal Statement of mine, plus I’m quite sure in case you follow these guidelines, the personal statement of yours is sure to keep an impression on the admissions tutor who’s lucky enough to be reading it.

Let us dive in, shall we?

Continue reading to the conclusion to get direct contact with our Oxbridge and Harvard offer holders who’d be pleased to give additional uni admissions information for free.
The Framework of an Oxbridge Personal Statement
1) The Introduction

Most people find the introduction the hardest.

To acquire the first few words down onto the page.

After all, this sets the tone for the remainder of the personal statement. To put the admissions tutor in a great mood for the remainder of the essay as you haven’t merely copied a generic template like all of the other candidates.

It goes without saying to stay away from cliches. You’ll be astonished at how many people start theirs off going “I have always planned to do [insert system here] from an extremely young age.”

Because we need to be real, when you are younger, you were probably thinking of becoming the following James Bond. Not how you’d this fervent passion to participate in the analysis of quantum mechanics.

In a low number of words, your introduction has to be succinct, straight to the level as well as authentic – be genuine with the admissions tutor, rather than beating around the bush for a seemingly’ nicer’ reason behind wanting to pursue your course of choice.

It could be an event, a story, a memory or a book that fuelled the passion of yours.

Be certain. The greater specific you’re, the more authentic you come across. This remains true for the entirety of the particular statement.

You’ve to show 1) the motivation of yours to learn that course and two) a prelude to your subsequent engagement within that industry. Set the scene for your main body paragraphs (work experience, academia etc.)

Do those 2 things and you’re off to a flying start.
Two) Academics & Work Experience/Volunteering

A general guideline for creating an Oxbridge Personal Statement is the 80:20 principle i.e. eighty % of your personal statement should be academic and 20 %, extracurriculars.

But this ought to be the bare minimum. In some instances, I would go as far as to say a recommended ratio might be 90:10.

The primary body is the opportunity of yours to show-off. Never play anything down.

Speak about the work experiences of yours, supracurriculars, lectures that you have watched, always linking it back to your desired course.

Show that you have taken the effort to take a look at the topic beyond the limitations belonging to the school curriculum.

But be cautious to never begin going off on the rant and start waffling. Those 4000 characters are prized – your currency if you like. And in case you start off unnecessarily using them too fast, way too soon, you’ll soon be broke.

And so attempt to avoid using extended, complicated sentences to explain a brief point.

Preferably, you wish to be in a position in which you’re reducing characters, not bulking them up on the DofE award that pretty much everyone will point out, and how that enhanced your teamwork abilities.

Keep in your head admissions tutors go through 1000s of Oxbridge personal statements yearly. Why might they elect to heed special concern to yours in case you don’t give them a reason to?

So, imbue your personal statement with your own special identifiers. They are human and will become bored if you don’t.

Remember, admissions tutors are looking to pick the ideal candidates for that course within their particular university i.e. every sentence ought to be a reason they go for YOU.

Oxbridge deliver training sessions in small groups/tutorials with an academic supervisor, particularly for challenging concepts. Perhaps showing an understanding that you are able to succeed in such environments or even have experience dealing with complex topics will accomplish the.

Distinguish realism from idealism in your personal statement – ensure you comprehend full comprehension of what the study course entails.

Avoid giving a misconstrued expectation in the personal statement of yours. Instead, accept the complications that the course offers as well as display a willingness to defeat them.

Always show, don’t tell – you’re writing to an authority in this particular area so you can assume they are able to make certain inferences. This is why, your personal statement should avoid being list-like where you just list different qualities and skills that a specific experience gave you.

Instead, give examples of how you had the ability to work with this particular skill that you just cultivated in another situation.

Throughout your personal statement, you need to take the admissions tutors on a journey through your passion for that course.

Use connectives to relate paragraphs so there’s a fluidity to your writing rather than making it seem like an entangled maze.

For instance, rather than just saying that you were enthusiastic about the biology of viruses, display how you had been so interested by it that you went to learn more and more it i.e. by way of a research project or online course.
Three) The Conclusion

When you have put all your work experiences as well as academic endeavours on this proverbial accentuate, the trip should come to an eventual end.

This’s exactly why you need a strong conclusion – to actually hit home and have a lasting impression on your reader..

Ideally, it must be quick (2-3 sentences), and encapsulate every aspect you previously mentioned. Do not create a new point.

This’s the only part of the statement of yours just where it’s OK to be generic. Conclude on the way you see yourself adapting to such a task that the course has.

End over a note of positive expectation – by law of reciprocity, the admissions tutor will do the very same.

After all this’s done, you have crafted the perfect personal statement.

The secret is unlocked – now it’s up to help you to use it.

Check out the links below for many quality resources to build your personal statement along with joining our ever-growing community on Discord!