Forget the warnings; forget the horror stories; our ‘How to Get into Oxbridge’ blog is here to demystify the Oxbridge interview process! Follow our top tips to interview and application success!
Our ‘How to Get into Oxbridge’ blog series continues, with a whistle-stop guide to writing the perfect personal statement. In ten concise, simple tips, we take you from start to finish, with insider advice on how to craft the personal section 10 of your UCAS form!
With competition this year due to be more fierce than it has even been, it has never been more important to get started early on Oxbridge application preparation. Our Oxbridge experts set out their key steps for preparing now, in advance of the application period in October. All you need to know to maximise your chances of getting into Oxbridge.
The perfect personal statement is absolutely crucial to a successful university application. With the rising numbers of students applying for places and ever improving A level results, it has never been more important to grab this key opportunity to make yourself stand out from the crowd. As universities are bombarded with applications from students with excellent results, myriad extra-curricular activities and high UCAS points, the personal statement has become the crucial barrier between success and rejection.
Having completed your introduction you are ready to move on to what is arguably the most important part of your university personal statement – the academic section. This is where you prove your suitability and qualification to study the subject you have chosen at university level.
To plan this section, you might want to start with a brainstorm to help you think of all the possible ideas you could include. Really think back over your past year of studying – what have you enjoyed the most, found frustrating, felt passionate about?
It is time to move on to the final phase of your UCAS personal statement, the section where you will list your personal and extra-curricular achievements, your cultural interests and social activities. Many students find this one of the most difficult sections to write, as it can seem the most ambiguous in terms of both content and tone. Should you list every single cello exam you have taken since the age of 5? Should you mention your passion for Italian cinema or focus on your sporting success and charity work?
