UCAS, the university applications body, has published the results of a report into the whole university applications process, which suggests that the current system may allow unfair advantages to pupils from private schools and privileged backgrounds. It has recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the system, including a move for university places to be allocated after A-level grades have been awarded.
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!
Applying to Oxbridge can seem like a daunting mountain to climb, but our ‘How to Get into Oxbridge’ blog series is here to help. This week, we take you through the steps of choosing the college that’s right for you!
It can be a confusing time of year for sixth form students as UCAS university offers come through and applicants must choose a firm choice and an insurance choice from the places they have been offered. We give you a simple guide to the system.
It is clear from the popularity of the Times university guide and the annual furore and debate surrounding this and many similar UK university ranking articles that this is a topic of high importance and interest across the nation. We have carried out research across a range of varied criteria and spoken directly to students from universities across the country to bring you a UK university league table with a difference.
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?
