Getting ready for university is a daunting prospect. Suddenly you have to become an adult at the grand old age of 17-18, and it is scary! I understand completely as not too long ago I was in that exact position. Although the last year of your schooling education is terrifying, not only have you got to juggle schoolwork, exams, revision, maybe a part-time job, hobbies, friends and family but now the school adds another pressure of university.
I thought I would put together a little series all about university. Some of the areas I will cover are how to pick a university/course to study, UCAS, personal statements, exams and results. I thought this mini series would be a great way to help some of you who are going through this process at the moment or in a couple of years time.
 |
| Source: Tumblr.com |
My number one tip that I will probably be repeating constantly throughout this series is
don't feel pressurised into going to university!!!! This is super important. If you have decided that you don't want to go, for whatever reason that might be, don't feel that you have to go, even if your friends/family/teachers all tell you that going to university will benefit you in the future or it is the best option at that particular time in your life, don't feel that you have to. I will talk about this subject later on, but for now, just keep that in mind.
So, my first blog post in this 'The Uni Diaries' series will be about personal statements. If you have decided that you are going to university, you need to start applying. Your school and teachers will help you through the process which will probably take place through UCAS. You will be given a user ID (which I think is emailed to you) and a password. From then on, you need to fill out the application.
THE APPLICATION
The UCAS application is long. I will tell you this now. You may think you will get to do it all in one sitting and then click 'send' and you have applied to university. Answer - WRONG!!! The application will probably take you weeks to fill out. The reason for this is there are multiple things that you (personally) need to fill out.
1. The first part of the application is easy, you simply fill out your personal details.
2. Next, is more personal details.
3. Thirdly, is your education (your school, GCSE grades with subjects, AS Level grades with subjects, the subjects you are studying for A Level).
4. Fourthly, your work (you might have a part-time job, so you need to fill in your employer and their details. If you don't have one, don't fill it in).
5. Your personal statement (which is basically you writing about yourself and making you sound like the best person ever)
6. Your references (you will need to get your teachers to write some references about you as well as your tutor).
There might be other parts of the application as well, but I can't remember what they are.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
So, let's focus on the personal statement as this is what takes the most amount of time and effort. Your personal statement is what your teachers will be badgering you about until it is finished. I thought I would give you 5 tips for writing your personal statement which helped me. If you follow these you should be fine.
1. Keep within the specific requirements. Don't go over the designated characters or lines as the application will not allow you to save it and you will have to delete either words or sentences, so it is easier for you in the long run to stick to the requirements. Write in Microsoft Word first as you can keep changing and deleting bits and printing out drafts, then when your personal statement is finished, you just have to copy and paste it onto your application. Write 80% about your course and why you want to study it and 20% personal. This is what I was told at my school as the whole point of your application is your course and why you want to study it, and a little bit about yourself.
2. Tell the truth. Don't lie in your personal statement as if you are called to an interview they may question you on aspects of your application, and you don't want to look like an idiot in front of a university bigwig. Don't copy from the Internet or anyone else's personal statement as there is a detector on the application and it can detect plagiarism. If it detects plagiarism, your school is contacted and your application can be discarded.
3. Get multiple people to read your personal statement. Your personal statement will become the bane of your life. You will hate it by the time you have finished with it. Get your friends/family/teachers/ even your neighbour to read over it! Be prepared to do at least three drafts of your personal statement. You need to make sure all grammar, punctuation and sentences flow and are correct.
4. You will have to do multiple drafts of your personal statement, so don't expect to finish it and think that will be it.
5. Don't leave it to the last minute. You have ages to write it but don't take that for granted. Get it done sooner, so it is out of the way and not looming over you. Also, you can get your tutor or teachers to read it before they are swamped by work and reading hundreds of other students personal statements as well. Trust me, your teachers will start to get irritated and annoyed if you leave it until the last minute to get them to read your statement.
But, don't stress about it too much. Your personal statement is not even long, probably about a page. The sooner you get it done, the better and leave yourself plenty of time and you will be fine. I hope these tips helped you in some way and let me know whether you are applying to go to university this year and what you want to study.
