searchssearchac Help Help e Learning r Help hsearchssearchac Help Help e Learning r Help h
searchsa Easy ch
Easy Hsearchl Learning 
ssearcharct
la Play Mathematics Play ahm
ti
s
msearchea Mathematics c Learning caem Easy c Play &searchm; Easy xra Easy u Easy r
c Easy l Help rsearchatsearchv Mathematics ties
Part 3: Structure of the essay
Most universities advice against over-talking about involvement in extracurricular activities (they say that you should not exceed 25% of the 4000 characters with spaces talking about them); there are career advisers suggesting that the proportions should be: 60% talking about your course and how you are suited to it, 30% about work experience and extracurricular activities, 10% about hobbies and activities that cannot be related to the subject. From my point of view, it is not so easy to separate, as you should talk especially about those extracurricular activities related to the course you want to follow or should relate them to some skills gained which will either be important in showing your suitability for the course or the university to which you want to apply. However, do keep in mind the fact that you need to have clear paragraphs and coherent ideas. One way of doing that is writing a subtitle to each paragraph in the very beginning.
In your essay, you should make sure you incorporate answers to the following questions:
Do keep in mind that you should include answers to the questions above without making your essay sound too technical. Try to make it like a story with a point: convincing the admission officers that they need to say successful to your application. To spice your essay up, do not include quotes, as they are somebody else’s words and this is a personal statement, supposed to say something about you; do not include jokes. What is funny for you, in your culture may be offensive or dull for somebody else. You never know who is going to read your application. What I would do is make sure that you have a catchy introduction (show passion and interest right from the very beginning) and a strong ending. In the main body, do try to incorporate consistent information, but do not exaggerate by giving too much or too little. Find the balance which suits you best. Repeatedly ask yourself the questions: what are my most important achievements? What are the activities I am most pride of? Why is that?
A structure with which most people are really confident is:
Paragraph 1: Interest for the subject. Why is the course attractive to you?
Paragraph 2: Background of academic achievements (Olympiads and contests) and academic interests; tell them how did you get to realize that a particular subject is more appealing; if the academic achievements are not in the field which you want to study, are there any specific transferable skills gained from participating? Try to avoid incorporating aspects already mentioned in the other fields of the UCAS form.
Paragraph 3: In what extracurricular activities or work experiences relevant to your course have you participated? Why are they relevant? What skills did you gain from them?
Paragraph 4: One of the following, according to what is the case: scholarships, accolades, hobbies relevant to the subject; do not forget that the goal is not just to list them, but make them see what you have learned from them, how it is going to help you in your degree.
Paragraph 5: Future plans and closing commitment.
If you feel this structure does not suit you, just play around with the questions above and the paragraphs, making sure you produce something which is both informative and catchy, represents you and is the best version you can come up with.
Part 4: Polishing it up
My personal statement had about 13 versions. I could have just edited the original document over and over, but I wanted to somehow mark the most significant changes made and compare the final and initial versions. It helped me realise and accept the 13th version as being the best it could get and, therefore, the last one. I know I could not have done it without the help of teachers, friends and mentors who had a look on my personal statement and gave me their feedback. I feel it is as important a step as the other stages of your writing an essay.
After finishing off with the first draft of your personal statement, irrespective of how bad you feel it is, do send it off to somebody you trust for the first feedback. It will probably be something related to grammar and vocabulary, but also too long or elliptic sentences, relevant or less important pieces of information you have included. When it comes to vocabulary, however, you should keep in mind the following: do try to avoid repetitions and do try to use a language which is a bit more academic and formal, by sticking to something which represents you. Remember, universities are looking for special individuals and you can only make them see you are special through your essay.
For example, if you have the following sentence:
In my spare time, I enjoy reading, swimming, sketching and solving puzzles and logic problems. I have redesigned and been responsible for the maintenance of my school’s website.
One way in which I would re-write it would be:
Reading magazines as The Economist in my spare time helps me keep up with the world news. Moreover, solving puzzles and logic problems not only relaxes me, but also encourages me to make connections between the pieces of information I know. On top of that, the responsibility of maintaining and redesigning my school’s website stimulated me to learn more about web design on my own and improved my time management skills.
Remember:
My personal statement, which was successful for LSE, UCL, Manchester and King’s College and unsuccessful for Edinburgh:
Pressured on becoming more dynamic, the business world has created prevalent modus operandi based on interpreting data processed through information technology. However, making advances requires handling the intricate and delicate balance at play, which entails Economics, Mathematics and Computer Science but also leadership, management, entrepreneurial skills, as well as understanding of business. Declaring my fascination about the complex world of decision-makers would certainly be an understatement on my part.
What kindled my interest for this course was a combination of extracurricular and academic activities. While preparing for the national stage of the Economics Olympiad (after having won 1st place at the regional stage) I became a voracious reader of various business publications. Some of the materials I went through were truly illuminating in my choice of a university course: ‘Introductory Management Science’ by G.D. Eppen, ‘Information Technology and Organizational Transformation’ by R.D. Galliers and Dr. Hossein Arsham’s ‘Success Science’. Consequently, my urge to learn more on the subject was unleashed.
My academic achievements and high school studies come only to reinforce my suitability for this course. I have a penchant for Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics, and I could not possibly imagine not incorporating them into my future activities. What gripped my attention was the applied and critical way of thinking required as well as the constant novelty. Though I have participated in many contests for all three subjects, the American Mathematics Competition, in which I won the 4th place at the regional stage in 2009, was the most tantalizing and demanding. Due to my high scores, I was awarded a monthly merit scholarship starting with 2006.
Under the impetus to find my element and change something in my community, I involved myself in various extracurricular activities, of which the project nearest and dearest to me is Science Week. I initiated and developed it when I was in the 10th form; it represents a fair for five areas in the sciences for over 2500 students, involving about 25 national institutions. The whole experience of initiating and coordinating it not only taught me how to make use of time efficiently but also what it really means to be the leader of a diverse team. In addition, it gave me the insight in motivating people and having the responsibility of creating a success with them, being open and creative to solve problems easier and incorporating closure.
When I started volunteering for the British Council Centre 2 years ago, I did not expect that this experience would make me want to work with multinational organizations once I graduated from university. I am confident that the knowledge and skills such as responsibility and professionalism gained in this multicultural environment will help me in my future studies.
hLearning Mathematics Easy Play Easymathhelp Easy Math Help 24 Fr 1 Easy Math Help Anca Haraga « Anca's Blogf j Easy Math Help Easy Math Help Natural Easy Math Help kLearning Mathematics Easy Play Easymathhelp Easy Math Help 24 Fr 1 Easy Math Help Anca Haraga « Anca's Blogg Srm513 %22%253C%28%3C%29%22 34