THE UNI DIARIES / 1: 5 Tips For Writing Your Personal Statement For University

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.

My Top Tips For Sixth Form Life

As I have finally finished Year 12, I thought I would share with you some of my top tips on surviving the first year of Sixth Form.

Now, I know there are a lot of perks of being in sixth form, like, for example, getting to wear your own clothes and getting free periods, however it is quite difficult! 

This blog post isn't supposed to scare or put you off the idea of attending sixth form at all. In fact, I would probably recommend it. But, there is a major step-up from GCSE level that many people struggle with (including myself). However, don't worry as there are so many people who are in the same position as you. 

For me, I knew I was always going to sixth form. Once I got my GCSE results, I was so excited to be starting sixth form life, as one of the oldest students in the school, and getting to wear my own smart attire, instead of the horrible school uniform. However, after my first couple of weeks at sixth form, I knew that it wasn't going to be that simple...

Firstly, I didn't pick the most easiest subjects. I chose my options based on what I liked and enjoyed, but also my results played a massive part as well. I ended up picking Philosophy & Ethics, History and English Literature, and although, they are all essay-based subjects, I still really enjoy them. 

My first tips before even entering sixth form are to:

1. Pick subjects you are interested in or passionate about. At AS Level, you only have to pick 4 subjects, but make sure to pick the ones you are going to enjoy. You will have to stick with these subjects for at least a year, unless you choose to drop one. 
2. Make sure to check out the required grades you need in your GCSE's in order to study that subject. For example, I had to get at least a B in English to do it for A-Level. 
3. Get all your equipment like pens, coloured fineliners and lots and lots of paper. These are necessities at sixth form. The amount of paper and notebooks I have got through this year are ridiculous. 
4. Make sure to get all your sixth form clothes before the term begins!

My first week at sixth form was good, although I did get incredibly tired. So, make sure to get an early night as you will need it!

After you have got into the swing of things, regarding homework, studying etc. All of a sudden, the dreaded exam period appears, and you wonder how it got around so quickly! Plus, there is even more pressure as you need good grades to maybe carry on the subject you want/need to do, or to get grades in order to go to university or a job etc. 

I hate exam season, as I get incredibly stressed and this is normally the time when I eat way to much food, which is mostly junk, and break out in spots, which makes you stress even more. However, I have put together some top tips in staying calm through exam stress:

1. Start your revision early. This may sound boring and pointless in a way, but I think it will help you in the long run. I started revising for my AS exams about 2 months before the exam, and I was still stressing about it, even the night before. 
2. Make cue cards, notes, spider diagrams, tables, diagrams etc, basically whatever helps you learn. Or just use the techniques when revising for your GCSE's for your A-Levels, it all works the same. 
3. Make sure you are aware of the mark schemes and grade boundaries, this way you are aware of what the examiner is looking for in order to gain marks. 
4. Stay calm! This is my number one piece of advice for anybody going through exams. Try not to get stressed. You might feel that you are not ready for a particular exam the day before, trust me, I know the feeling, but you are ready! Remember you have been preparing for this exam for about a year, and everything will come flooding back to you when you enter the exam room. 
5. Try to have some days off from revision. I know you might feel guilty for taking a day off, but you do need a break once in a while. Maybe go out for a shopping trip, meet up with friends and have a coffee, or even just having a face mask and relaxing bath! As well as having a break through going out, make sure to take regular 15-20 minutes breaks while revising as the information will not go in if you keep revising all day with no break. 
6. Finally, I know your exams are important, but it isn't the end of the world, if you don't get the grade you wanted. Life will still go on, and you are still alive! Remember, exams are just a way of showing off what you know! 

I seem to be painting sixth form as a bad idea and terrible place, but the truth is, it is such a good experience. Personally, I have enjoyed this year so much. Firstly, you make friends with people that you might have never spoken to before (even for 5 years!) due to having your own common room, this enables you to have conversations with others that are not in your social circle. At our sixth form, we had termly parties, this meant that at the end of a big term, like Christmas or Easter, we throw a party which was so much fun and was a way for us to blow off steam, especially before exam season. 

We also went on a range of trips and we most recently went to Brighton on Tuesday, as an end of the year treat. Everybody had so much fun and as it was a really hot day, it meant we could relax on the beach or go to the pier which was so lovely.  

Another good thing about sixth form is you are treated like adults. This has enabled me to grow and mature as a person, but also gain more confidence in myself as well.

I hope this blog post has helped some of you one are entering sixth form this year or thinking about it. I hope I haven't put any of you off as it is a brilliant experience, and I cannot wait until next year! 

All images on this blog post are from Google Images