Your UCAS personal statement is a vital component of your university application. The personal statement is representative of you – your ambitions, your aspirations, your interests – everything that separates you from the thousands of other applicants.

Writing a concise, eloquent and stand-out UCAS personal statement can be daunting. Your use of language and knowledge are put to the test. Gabbitas provides bespoke guidance, ensuring you demonstrate your academic prowess and genuine passion for your chosen field of study. In this article, we are going to walk you through the process required to write a winning personal statement.

 

What to Include:

1. Passion for the Subject: Clearly articulate your passion for your chosen subject, using particular features of your chosen subject that got you ‘hooked’.

• What books have you read? Is there an inspirational figure in your field?
• What life experiences have intrinsically linked you to this subject?
• What first got you fascinated?

2. Showcase Your Achievements: Include those moments you should be proud of. Highlight your biggest academic achievements, instances where you’ve gone above and beyond, and any additional qualifications and courses you’ve done.

• How do these make you come across as a strong candidate?
• How do they relate to you field of study?

3. Extracurricular Impact: The activities and interests you have outside of the classroom have shaped you and will continue to play an instrumental role in your further and higher education. Discuss your participation in sports, clubs, volunteering and other extracurricular activities. Be sure to emphasise any leadership, teamwork, or instances that demonstrate your skills and depth of interest beyond the classroom.

4. Future Aspirations: Outline your future goals and explain how the course you’re applying for aligns with these aspirations. Showcase your understanding of the field and your commitment to furthering your knowledge.

5. Use of Language: Looking through your personal statement, ensure your vocabulary is varied, developed and mature, and that subject specific words are correctly used. Punctuation and use of paragraphs can make a personal statement flow seamlessly, highlighting vital points, making it an easy read for an admissions officer. The register of the personal statement is also crucial.

• How does it sound to a new reader?
• Is it approachable and professional? Does it express you?

 

When is all this happening?

UCAS 2025 Application Submission Deadlines

3 September 2024: UCAS Undergraduate Deadline

2 October 2024: Deadline for conservatoire/music applications

15 October 2024: Oxbridge, medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science deadline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit: Cambridge University

 

How can we help?

We provide personalised guidance to help students clearly articulate their motivations and craft compelling personal statements that stand out.

Our services include:

• • • Subject specialist support from Oxbridge and Russel graduates
  • • Strategic planning
  • • Interview practice with subject experts
  • • Admissions tests preparation
    • Help with selection of target courses/universities

 

Please contact us for a complimentary telephone discussion about your application.

Front Image Credit: Oxford University

With home schooling continuing is now the time to engage a tutor for extra support?

Answered by Anastasia Hatvany, Education Consultant for Gabbitas

Although some schools have started to re-open for specific year groups there are still many who are having to continue with home schooling and most are unlikely to see a return to school until the Autumn.

Prolonged periods of remote study, especially when the weather is good, can become very challenging. Routines start to wane and boredom can take a hold. Children start to lose their focus and parents find it harder to keep them motivated.

September is several months away. The time available now is an opportunity to help improve and expand your child’s knowledge and help make learning fun again. To do this it could be time to consider enlisting some extra support.

Taking on a tutor has several benefits aside from the specialist knowledge they can impart. It is an opportunity to create some structure and help get students back on track with their studies and give some direction in preparing for the next academic year. Helping them fill gaps in their knowledge can act as an opportunity to re-engage with learning. It is also a chance to provide tutoring in subjects away from the curriculum that they might never have considered but which could help expand their horizons –  astronomy, a new language.

Pupils who are working towards Pre-Test, 11+ or Common Entrance need to be focused. Just one tutorial a week can help consolidate course work from school, energise and stimulate whilst helping them delve deeper into a subject. It can give the week some structure and purpose. A good tutor can act as a positive role model during these difficult times.

Gabbitas has a long history of providing some of the very best tutors and we have been able to enlist the support of our excellent team to put together some Bespoke Remote Tutoring Packages to help parents during this challenging time.

 

How will my Exam results be calculated now that the actual exams have been cancelled?

Answered by Natallia Patsaluyonak, Head of Family Services for Gabbitas

This year’s GCSE, AS and A level exams have been cancelled. As a result, grades are now going to be awarded based on a student’s performance in mock exams and other non-exam assessment data available to teachers.

How these UK grade awards work in practice?

Using the following:

• Non-exam assessment/coursework (complete or incomplete)
• Homework
• Mock exams
• Any other records of student performance over the course of study
• Any records of performance in subjects such as PE, Music and Drama
• Recent and relevant public exam and external testing such AS-level grades, BMAT/UCAT which can also be included in the evidence.

Teachers will use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grade they believe a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year. The final grades awarded in each subject will be internally moderated by the relevant departmental staff at the school.

Schools have been asked to rank students in order of performance in each grade and subject and will submit these to the relevant exam boards.

The Exam Boards will then standardise the results by comparing grades between schools and colleges to achieve fairness overall.

How the schools have performed historically will also be considered.

Therefore, the grade predicted from the school may be adjusted up or down by the exam board.

Students will receive their grades by mid-August if not earlier. You can find more information on how Covid-19 will affect UK Exam results here. https://gabbitas.com///covid-19-uk-exam-results

Appeals and Autumn Exams

Students who feel that the grades awarded do not reflect their ability will have the opportunity to take their exams in an Autumn series of exams yet to be finalised or in summer 2021. There will be an ‘appeal’ procedure for students who do not agree with their final grades made using the assessment process but how this will work is not yet finalised.

To see how Gabbitas can advise you on the best next steps to help in these circumstances, contact us by emailing info@gabbitas.com or call one of our consultants on 0207 734 0161

 

What are the changes to the International Baccalaureate now formal exams have been cancelled?

Answered by Natallia Patsaluyonak, Head of Family Services for Gabbitas

Despite the Summer Exams being cancelled, the International Baccalaureate intends to release results to universities and schools as planned on 5 July.

To enable them to provide grades, Schools and colleges will have uploaded coursework and associated predicted grades to the IB board in April.

IB will be using vast historical assessment data to ensure that they follow a rigorous process of due diligence in what is a truly unprecedented situation. They will be undertaking significant data analysis from previous exam sessions, individual school data, subject data as well as comparative data of schools who have already completed uploading requirements and those who have not. IB will require schools to submit the coursework for all candidates.

IB will externally mark work that is usually marked by teachers, instead of taking samples and applying moderation.

They will use a calculation that is based on the relationship between coursework marks, predicted grades and subject grades to estimate the subject grades candidates would have received if the exams had gone ahead.

If the relationship between these elements shows that in previous sessions candidates globally tended to achieve higher outcomes on their exams than their coursework, the calculation used this session will reflect that.

At a subject level, students will be awarded a grade on the normal IB 1-7 scale. Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay and the Career-Related Programme Reflective Project will be awarded a grade on the normal IB A-E scale. The DP core will be awarded on the normal IB 0-3 scale. A total points score will be awarded for the Diploma, out of 45 as normal.

However, if students are unhappy with the process it has been agreed that they will be able to take their exams in November, but this will mean delaying University entrance for a year.

You can find more information on how Covid-19 will affect International Baccalaureate results here.

 

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This article from our team of education consultants at Gabbitas, first appeared in the Summer 2020 edition of Absolutely Education magazine

Be clear in your choice of the courses you wish to apply for. A starting point in to your choice of subject/s to study should always be ‘what are you good at’? People tend to enjoy what they find makes sense – if it’s a slog it should be a no-brainer not to continue. Most students will have a favourite subject and it is worth exploring new alternatives that open-up at university. History buffs might go for international relations, chemistry whizzes for toxicology. Think outside the box, as you might come across courses that you have never even heard of previously. Create a shortlist of courses/universities/colleges. Go to the open days. Think about course modules, facilities, location and career opportunities.

Then of course the other key question apart from the choice of course is how to approach the application, and the personal statement. Most schools offer support for this, but parents should be aware of what will be required. Things to avoid are: pompous clichés, made up scenarios, fraught analysis of books you’ve never read, or worse, those from the curriculum. What all universities want to see in principal are three things: does the student have the academic ability to study this subject, do they have the motivation to do so, and do they understand what the subject is?

Your personal statement should focus on the positives, so avoid irrelevant information (some applicants feel obliged to mention everything they have done in their life). Do watch out for typos and spelling errors!

This 4000-character document might seem daunting but it is one of the main pieces of supporting evidence to help you with your university application. For many this can make the difference between successfully securing a place at a chosen university or missing out.

As soon as you search for tips on writing personal statements online you are faced with a barrage of ideas, tricks and suggestions.

One chance to impress

There is only one main theme that must be adhered to above all others. The personal statement should be a true reflection of YOU. This is the only chance (unless you are invited for interview) to demonstrate why the university you are applying for wants you above any other candidate with the same academic grades.

Here are five further recommendations that we make to ensure that your personal statement stands out.

Personal statement tips

1. Ensure that most the personal statement is about your academic interests and how those relate to not only the course but what you might want to do in the future. Look at the course prospectus and the areas of research that the lead professors study and see what common interests you have.
2. Write about any out of school activities that you have pursued that are in direct relation to your chosen degree subject. If you are looking at medicine have you done any relevant work experience? If you are pursuing archaeology have you been to a dig site?
3. Include a paragraph about your other achievements and interests but keep this brief and make it your penultimate paragraph. Leadership positions, membership of clubs both inside and outside of school and other achievements are all relevant but do not wax lyrical about them. The university just wants to see that you have other interests outside of the purely academic and that you might want to contribute to wider university life.
4. Read the books you put on your personal statement and visit the museum or gallery that might be linked to your future study.
5. Get ahead of the game and start writing. It will take several drafts to get a strong personal statement and inevitably you will receive different direction from whomever you ask for advice. By starting early, you will put yourself in the best position to make your application stand out when applications open this September.

 

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This article Natallia Patsaluyonak, Director of Family Services, Gabbitas, part of our team of education consultants, first appeared in the Summer 2020 edition of School Report magazine 

As the news is filled with A-Level results and images of happy students gleefully clutching their results papers, for those about to start their final year of school this can seem a long way off.

Nevertheless, there is an important step you can take to get ahead of the game and ensure that in 12 months time you too will be bounding happily out of the school gates for the last time with university on the near horizon.

The personal statement

This preparatory step is of course to start work on your personal statement. This 4000-character document might seem daunting but it is one of the main pieces of supporting evidence to help you with your university application. For many this can make the difference between successfully securing a place at a chosen university or missing out.

As soon as you search for tips on writing personal statements online you are faced with a barrage of ideas, tricks and suggestions.

One chance to impress

There is only one main theme that must be adhered to above all others. The personal statement should be a true reflection of YOU. This is the only chance (unless you are invited for interview) to demonstrate why the university you are applying for wants you above any other candidate with the same academic grades.

Here are five further recommendations that we make to ensure that your personal statement stands out.

Personal statement tips

1. Ensure that the majority of the personal statement is about your academic interests and how those relate to not only the course but what you might want to do in the future. Look at the course prospectus and the areas of research that the lead professors study and see what common interests you have.
2. Write about any out of school activities that you have pursued that are in direct relation to your chosen degree subject. If you are looking at medicine have you done any relevant work experience? If you are pursuing archaeology have you been to a dig site?
3. Include a paragraph about your other achievements and interests but keep this brief and make it your penultimate paragraph. Leadership positions, membership of clubs both inside and outside of school and other achievements are all relevant but do not wax lyrical about them. The university just wants to see that you have other interests outside of the purely academic and that you might want to contribute to wider university life.
4. Read the books you put on your personal statement and visit the museum or gallery that might be linked to your future study.
5. Get ahead of the game and start writing. It will take several drafts to get a strong personal statement and inevitably you will receive different direction from whomever you ask for advice. By starting early you will put yourself in the best position to make your application stand out when applications open this September.

Key points to remember for your UCAS Form:

• Deadline for submission of the UCAS form for almost all courses and universities is 15 January 2019, 18.00 UK time.
• Your personal statement should be a maximum of 47 lines, and 4,000 characters. Don’t confuse ‘characters’ with ‘words’: 4,000 characters is about 600 words!
• You can only write one personal statement: it will be read by all the universities you’re applying to – it’s therefore worth avoiding mentioning an individual university by name.
• Admissions tutors are reading thousands of personal statements: make sure you don’t give them an excuse to discard yours in the first paragraph with sloppy spelling or poor grammar.
• Your UCAS form includes a reference from your teacher or tutor. Make sure you get this from them in time!

Stuck on what to write? Put yourself in the admissions tutors’ shoes…

If you were them, what would you be looking for in a potential student for their course?

Write a list of five things you would be looking for. Perhaps your list looks something like this:

• academically able
• evidence of an interest in their degree course going back several years
• hard-working
• will contribute to university in a wider context (sports, debating, human rights issues)
• mature

Write the five headings down, and then jot down, in bullet point form, all the evidence you have that you possess these characteristics.

Show don’t tell!

Instead of writing, ‘I am passionate about my subject, and I am mature and responsible’, write something like: ‘Since the age of fifteen, I volunteered on an airbase on Saturday mornings – further fuelling my desire to study aeronautical engineering. By the time I turned seventeen, I had demonstrated my long-term commitment to the airbase and was deemed sufficiently mature and serious to be given considerable responsibilities, which included x and y’.

Keep your structure tight

If you have a tendency to waffle, plan the personal statement the way you would an essay: paragraph by paragraph. For example, the plan might look something like this:

• Paragraph 1 – you and the course. Why this course?  Evidence you are passionate about the subject. Relevant hobbies, activities, extra studies that would help you with the course.
• Paragraph 2 – you as a student. Any notable achievements, particular qualities such as self-discipline or tenacity which would stand you in good stead at university?
• Paragraph 3 – you as a person. Evidence of your talents and interests. Your plans for the future. How the course will help you fulfil your aims.
• Conclusion – reiterate your commitment to the course and how you think your skills would be suited to university life.

What to avoid…

• Anything irrelevant – something is irrelevant if it doesn’t demonstrate why or how you would be well-suited to studying at university. Playing in a school orchestra is relevant – it shows commitment, team-skills and so on. The name of your dog isn’t relevant, though!
• Does it sound stilted? Try reading your personal statement out loud. If it doesn’t sound like something you would actually say out loud, chances are it’s a bit stilted. Maybe you can try changing it to something that you’d say more naturally.
• Quotations – especially from films! 47 lines isn’t a lot, and the admissions tutors want to hear from you – they want text that you’ve written, not something from someone else.
• Repetition – you may not notice that you’ve used the expression ‘I’m passionate about…’ three times, but the admissions tutor will! Keep a keen eye out for this.