Unlike applying in the Netherlands, that has no college essay requirement, or the US with the most challenging college essay expectations, the UK college essay is pretty straight forward. I was overwhelmed at first, as I did not understand how I was supposed to write an essay where I just plainly state that I was a good fit for the major I chose. The extra challenge is that every university you apply to will be receiving the same version of your personal statement, so if you are applying for different majors at different universities, be sure to take that into account while writing it.
The personal statement is " a chance for you to articulate why you’d like to study a particular course or subject, and what skills and experience you possess that show your passion for your chosen field." - UCAS
You are expected to write 1000-4000 characters (not words... i learned that the hard way) that express how the choices you have made academically and your personal experiences make you a good candidate for success in a specific major/career. UCAS recommends discussing where your interest in the field began, what influenced your decision to apply for it, any clubs/activities you did that helped develop this interest, relevant employment/volunteering, the relevant skills you have, and the high school classes you chose in preparation for your major.
Given that as American high school students, we have less flexibility to choose our classes to pick relevant ones and that work/clubs are not expected to be relevant to our future careers it can be difficult to start the personal statement. When I started mine, I began by reading sample personal statements from previous students (see examples by subject area). Then I made a list of all the life experiences, extracurriculars, classes, and work that I have done in the past 4-5 years or so. With this list, I was able to start looking at what skills I developed through each thing and which ones were applicable to my major (occupational therapy). I saw that my interest in the field began with my volunteering in a special education classroom in middle school as well as having a childhood best friend with a disability, so I highlighted these as focus points for my personal statement. These things however were from over 5 years ago, so I had to make sure to bring some focus into more recent things I have done. I took AP psychology and biology, both subjects which are core to the occupational therapy curriculum, so I included mention of this in my statement. Lastly, I focused my discussion of my extracurricular activities on the leadership skills I learned on my Cross Country team and the interpersonal/time management skills I developed through my summer job.
At the end of the day, it still felt awkward to write about myself like this. It felt like I was being overly egotistical and self-centered, but that is kind of what they want to read. They don't want to see write some incredible personal essay with underlying metaphors about the defining memories in your life or your love for ice cream on your application for a math degree. Bottom line is, you hadon've to be a literary genius to get into college for anything but English, so focus on demonstrating your interest in your course, not the actual structure of the essay itself.
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