ASKING FOR OPINION/TIPS/SUGGESTIONS/SUPPORT:

Okay, I am planning to go back to academia for postgrad after maybe 5-6 years of leaving uni life?

How true is it when they said:

“Just be yourself when you write your personal statement!”

“the admission officer want to get to know you as a person when they are reading your application”

when writing personal statement for university application for a neurodivergent who’s planning to apply for inclusion/disability studies ?

(I’m AuDHD so I have no idea how literal I have to take these statements and whether I should take it at face value or if this is about performing acceptable amount of true self again)

I’ve read about the rank of this university and how great they are at providing support and alternative learning style, which is partly what interests me, but I still worry about being discriminated if I reveal about my disability as a part of my motivation to apply for study.

Please help!

I need opinion, suggestions, tips and support in any kindest and supportive ways you can offer now.

Thank you!

What monster woke up one day and decided to make the UCAS character limit include spaces?

Hey Tumblr, what are reasons one would want to become a librarian? I'm writing a personal statement for grad school, Masters of Information Science. Thus far my reasons are:

-I'm interested in community services/resources and running helpful programs.

-I fucking love books.

-I have an English degree and I want to put it to use g-ddammit

-When I was younger libraries were a safe space for me. My stepdad used to ground me from going to the library cuz he's a dick and hated my happiness.

-I shadowed a librarian and it was really cool.

This needs to be a decent length tho and idk what else there is to write. Taking any and all suggestions (no guarantees they'll make it into my statement tho)

8.21.23

Everyone I've heard advice from says that you should rewrite your personal statement a few times but when you find the right topic, you'll know. I've written it three times now but it just feels slightly more conceited every time I do. I'm worried that the perfectionist side of me will never be happy but my fingers are crossed for something to come out acceptable.

life is so sad and chaotic😔🙏

why is it we have so much work to do over summer break like isn’t the whole point to have a break.

if cambridge see this i am joking i am spending every second studying

Valedictorian Tips 📚1!

Hi everyone!

As promised, this post marks the start of the valedictorian ravings series! My hope is to provide some guidance and personal insight on my journey through high school, from a wide-eyed freshman to a relieved-that-I’m-finally-done valedictorian. I’ll be addressing overall study habits as well as the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of going through high school.

My intention with this series isn’t to cause stress or place unrealistic expectations on others, nor is it a checklist to be successful. After all, my definition of contentment and success is drastically different now in comparison to my senior year. Rather, I’d like to use this as an opportunity reflect on my high school career—the mistakes I made, the decisions I took, my mentality towards school—and provide insight to help another student struggling with the same things I did.

I’m also open to requests/asks! College application season is very much happening, and having been through it recently (and worked as a writing TA for quite a while,) I have advice to share if it would interest y’all!

As a side note, I went to high school in the U.S., and am aware that there are big differences between school systems in other countries. Although I can’t speak directly about them, I hope that some of the general advice applies.

As a side side note, this series can be found under #valedictorianings.

Pic: visited a friend’s campus (looooong road trip) and found an amazing bookshop!

Vendredi 24 février 2023 

Writing cover letters and updating my CV & cat sitting for my friend. 

So funny how they expect you to come with an amazing personal statement but nobody taught you how to write a proper one. Hopefully I have great company ! 

Hope you guys are doing good ! 

Tips on writing a personal statement

Research what kind of things the universities you’re applying for want to see – some unis like people who are well rounded with lots of extra-curricular clubs on their application, whereas some like Oxford and Cambridge only care about academics and proof you are good at the subject

If you have done any internships/work experiences in the field you are applying for, include these and elaborate on what key skills they have given you – why do these experiences make you better suited to take this course?

If you haven’t done any internships, what do your hobbies or extra-curricular clubs say about you? For example learning a language shows dedication and commitment, volunteering at a youth group shows leadership/teamwork skills, etc.

If you are writing about a book that inspired you, make it original and interesting, for example if you are applying for Physics, talking about A Brief History of Time has been done before and won’t make you stand out.

It may be tempting to just list a bunch of skills you have without expanding on why these make you a good pick for the university. Anyone can list a bunch of skills – the universities need to see why they should pick YOU specifically. What can you bring that someone else might not?

Keep rewriting and revising your statement. Get family, friends and teachers to read it and give advice.

Don’t be modest! This is your chance to really big yourself up and write like you are the most amazing student the university has ever seen and they would be a fool not to choose you.

guess who hasn't touched their personal statement over the summer and is applying to uni in January :)))

Fuck romanticizing the aesthetics of the elite class and royalty, I wanna find comfort in the experience of only eating cheap convenience store instant noodles for a whole week, almost falling asleep while riding the public bus at evenings, hunt for discounts and sales in supermarkets, discover bizarre but entertaining clothes in thrift shops; I wanna revalue the importance of appreciating the smaller pleasures in life through making ends meet with livable working class wages, but the current economy has made it almost impossible to find glimmers of joy in the experience of the commoner's way of living.

im not sure what my audience is but is there anyone struggling to write a personal statement (UK specifically is where i can help most) and wants help from a year 13?

Me : I am a writer.

Also me : What the eff do I write for my college essay—

Me : I am a fanfic writer.

When it comes to writing college admissions essays, some students know exactly what they want to write about. Others have zero clue. The good news is that admissions essays tend to be relatively open-ended, giving students the freedom to write about almost anything they choose. As such, it is important to start with plenty of material. Your first idea may be a good one, but considering how robust the human experience is, you probably have a treasure trove of ideas brimming beneath the surface waiting to be uncovered. So how do you go about discovering this potential gold mine? Today’s post contains a handful of pre-writing exercises to help you brainstorm and effortlessly launch into your college admissions essays.

TIMED FREE-WRITING ⏱️

If there’s one thing college admissions officers are looking for, it is your authentic voice. Think about it. No one else can lay claim to your voice; it is uniquely and definitively your own. And yet many students have no idea how to write in their own voice. Well my recommendation is to engage in timed free-writing. As its name suggests, free-writing is writing without any limits or constraints. Think of it as posting on social media without any filters. Scary, huh? It’s a powerful technique because it can reveal your true feelings and beliefs (of course, you can always add a filter later). So here are the steps:

Find a location to write where you will not be interrupted

Set a timer for a minimum amount of time (at least 5–10 minutes)

Take a deep breath, begin the timer and WRITE

Don’t monitor/edit/erase anything that comes out on the page/computer screen

Once time is up, reread what you wrote and highlight anything significantly YOU

If you’re having trouble coming up with something, use the following phrase to prompt your thinking: “If you really knew me, you’d know…” and add facts about yourself. If you are truly writing freely, your unique voice will come through. You may be surprised with what comes up, but understand that this is how you sound when you are relaxed and natural. It’s probably similar to how you sound when you’re around people who make you feel completely at ease. Use this voice when you begin writing your college essays.

OBJECTIVE CORRELATIVE EXERCISE

An objective correlative is an object that serves a symbolic meaning in a story. In our lives, we come into contact with any number of objects, some with little meaning and others with much significance. However, how often do you stop to reflect on the value of these objects in your life? This is a wonderful exercises to do at home since many of our most treasured possessions are in our homes. To begin with, I want you to take a look around your home and take an inventory of the items that have some significance to you. The first items students tend to think of are usually their phone or their computer. However, I want you to go beyond and consider less common possessions. Are there any items given to you by a relative that have special meaning? Anything that you’ve found or earned or won (or lost)? What are the top three objects you would grab if you had to immediately abandon your home due to a disaster? Make a list of at least ten items and then jot down the stories behind these objects. Take a trip down memory lane and recall the anecdotes associated with them. Use the five senses to remember specific details that take you back to the moment. That level of detail can work wonders in a college essay. Once you have your objects and their associated anecdotes, one or more of these could serve as a focal point for your personal statement.

VALUES. OPINIONS. SKILLS.

With a quick Google search, you can find a list of values, opinions and skills. Write down a personal list for each category. Reflect on how these were formed or shaped over the course of your life. What did you undergo to develop those values? Why do you hold this particular opinion? Where did you learn that specific skill? There is a story behind all of them. These values, opinions and skills will be at the core of who you are and what you want to do in life, so make sure they are rooted in actual experiences. You can then translate those experiences into compelling anecdotes that reveal your inner qualities.

ASK OTHERS FOR MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES

Asking others for guidance in the college admissions process can be tricky since it is a highly personal experience. While only you can be the authority on you, family and friends can often lend helpful insight as well. You’d be surprised at the stories others can recall that you may have tucked away in your memory. And for good reason! Perhaps those stories are embarrassing or maybe you don’t want to toot your own horn too much. Either way, you should consider asking trusted friends and family to share some of their memorable experiences of you. Keep a list of these anecdotes and review them to see if there are any common threads. You may just discover a theme for a college essay.

Whew!

That’s quite a bit of pre-writing, and we haven’t even started the essays yet. However, this level of advance work will make the actual essay writing go much more smoothly. You will have established the proper mindset to tackle the unique challenges of college admissions essays. You will have also tapped into your authentic writing voice, which will serve as your most powerful tool throughout this process.

So … what are you waiting for? Time is ticking. Begin these exercises today and watch your world unfold before you.

I was researching student personal statement examples just to see what others are doing and I was kinda surprised actually. Like some read more like a poem, casual, conversational, not just a recounting of facts… so, I thought, hmm, what if I write out the scene of an interview like in a story format? 😶

Exactly one year ago I was reading ACOMAF for the first time.

One year later and I'm still here screaming shaking crying and throwing up about literally ink on paper. Nice!!!!

Happy personal book anniversary!!!!

I can't wait for tomorrow - I'm going to attend four online meetings for the choosing oxford programme from 5pm. so excited about this (receiving an email that confirmed my application to these meetings was the best thing of the past week)