Not only are you writing a personal statement, many students who graduated high school like you are preparing it as well. So, how to be noticeable, and outstanding as much as possible in order to be accepted in university easily. This content is going to give you some advice.
But first, what is a personal statement?
A personal statement is a key factor of the university application, especially international university. It is a letter which explains why you have spent months making up your mind to choose a particular course. It can make your profile outstanding from other candidates’ who got the same grades as you. This can be the main reason why it is important.
Ideally, 500-600 words is the perfect length for a personal statement because you do not want the reader to spend too much time reading yours. More time means more things to consider. Therefore, below are some suggestions on how to write a proper personal statement.
- Plan what you want to put in your Personal Statement.
Simply, you should start with a plan to make sure that you will not miss any points that you want to make, and avoid mistakes. You may first start with some questions, and try to roughly answer them just to get the ideas.
For example:
- Why did you decide to select this course?
- What excites you about the subject?
- Is my previous or current study relevant to the course?
- Any school activities that might help you to get this course?
- From the activities you have done, what skills did you earn that make you fit the course?
- Point out your experience and your interests
Be a little picky about this point, because not every experience is worth mentioning. You should always keep in mind that your experience that you put into your personal statement should be relevant to the course.
Getting good IGCSE or AS/A-LEVEL grades is incomparably great and somewhat interesting, however, the grade should be just an addition, or explanation about what you have done in school during your IGCSE or AS/A-LEVEL years of study.
You might mention that you have used your maths ability to compete in an academic competition or talk about how your drawing got a good compliment from teachers and experts, and your drawing was shown at your school, and you feel great about it. More importantly, you earned a presentation skill from this experience that you want to spend another four years enhancing your skill further at the university.
- Provide a clear statement on why you prefer to study the course.
Give the reader a good hard punch at your start point, and you will be at an advantage. By stating why this course is important to your study life that you would like to sacrify your four years on, it is like giving the reader a whole picture of what exactly you are trying to bring.
Then, you can demonstrate your main point by breaking it down into detail to be clearer.
- Be convincing
Personal statement is not the same as some informative or critical essays that you have written at school. You are convincing someone to enrol you into the course.
So, think about the nature of humans. Normally people are convinced by giving them more details and explanations, just like when you want to sell something, you need to give them the benefit of having that goods, how it can help them achieve their goals.
In your case, you might want to be a student that brings achievement to the faculty, show them your potential to do well at university and get good grades.
- Emphasise your ability on the summary
The final sentence might not be as hard as the start, because you have already made all your points. Therefore, the last challenge is how to summarise them all into one paragraph.
The tip is to read your entire writing again and try to find the most important, meaningful, and memorable point. Here is your good opportunity to emphasise your ability again, clear all doubts out of the readers’ minds on why you should get a space in the university.
Some more points to consider:
- For easier reading, you should leave blank lines between your paragraphs in order for the readers to go through it quickly, yet understanding.
- Try to give examples as clearly as possible. Examples are a perfect way to explain your earned skills.
- Be mindful of writing a personal statement too broadly. You should make a statement specific to just one university. If you have many choices, you can adjust the content a bit to suit that institute or course.
Though, IGCSE and AS/A-LEVEL grades are still important for applying to university. Most international universities in Thailand and overseas require both IGCSE and AS/A-LEVEL diploma as a basic high school qualification and they accept students with high grades (grade C or higher.) Therefore, a proper personal statement is tied up with good IGCSE and AS-LEVEL grades, still.
By taking IGCSE/AS-LEVEL courses at The Planner Education, students can get more advice on university applications with our academic experts. Make sure you do not miss the opportunity.
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