I have been helping people write PS for UK university admissions. My own PS got me into City, LSE, Kent, Heriott Watt and Manchester! Here is the link to my own PS if you are interested!
squidoo.com/actuarial-sciences-personal-statement
The personal statement, your opportunity to sell yourself in the application process, generally falls into one of two categories:
1. The general, comprehensive personal statement:
This allows you maximum freedom in terms of what you write and is the type of statement often prepared for standard medical or law school application forms.
2. The response to very specific questions:
Often, business and graduate school applications ask specific questions, and your statement should respond specifically to the question being asked. Some business school applications favor multiple essays, typically asking for responses to three or more questions
We suggest you have a pretty good idea of what course you want to study before continuing much further with your personal statement.
Generally, personal statements are quite specific so if you decide to change the course you are applying for you would need to rewrite your personal statement.
Does it matter?
Some course tutors find personal statements crucial when making decisions, whereas others might not put as much emphasis on them. Since you do not know who will be looking at your statement, the safest thing is to do a good job. In many cases, applicants are not interviewed, so this may be your only chance to make the case for you to be offered a place.
Tell a Story
Be truthful and stick to the facts; yet, think of your personal statement in the terms of writing a story. You want to write something that is fresh, lively, and different, to put yourself ahead of the other applicants. A personal statement MUST be MEMORABLE. Review your life very carefully for experiences that reveal an unusual dimension related to your professional goals.
Find an Angle
If you are like most people, your life story might well lack significant drama, so figuring out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle is vital. Brainstorm for ideas that emphasize your exceptional qualities, goals, past performances.
Concentrate on Your Opening Paragraph
Keep in mind when composing your statement that the lead or OPENING PARAGRAPH IS generally the MOST IMPORTANT. Here you either GRAB the readers attention or lose it.
Tell Who You Are
The committee needs to get a sense of who you are, what makes you tick, and how you are different from other applicants. They should be interested in you, eager to hear more, impressed that
what you are saying to them is not what they have read a thousand times before.
Tell a s tory b e truthful, and stick to the facts; yet, think of your personal statement in the terms of writing a story.
Find an a ngle.
Finding an angle is vital. Brainstorm for ideas that emphasize your exceptional qualities, goals, and past performances.
Concentrate on y our o pening p aragraph.
They should be interested in you, eager to hear more, impressed that
what you are saying to them is not what they have read a thousand times before.
:)
