Volume 27, Number 3, February 2015 University How to write a personal statement for non-vocational* biological sciences university courses Chris Christofi *not medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary sciences Every year each round of UCAS applications starts on 1 September. Whether applicants secure the university place of their choice very much depends on them achieving the grades required by their target university. But grades are only part of the story. In many areas, competition from students with grades equal to or better than those required is strong. As in any competition, you need to ensure that all elements are undertaken and completed as well as they can be. In biological studies only one applicant is successful in approximately every 5.7. Admissions tutors use a variety of information to decide who should be made an offer. They may consider any of the following: GCSE grades achieved (these are usually very important) AS and A2 (or equivalent) grades achieved/predicted Reference Work experience Interview Personal statement Here we are focusing on the last of these, so what do admissions tutors look for? Their criteria are likely to include: Academic potential and strong desire to study the course Application for the right course and potential benefit from the course Knowledge of the content of the course Experience, knowledge, abilities and/or skills that relate to the course Motivation for and commitment to chosen course Ability to work independently Philip Allan Updates © 2015 1 Best fit to the course/student cohort Potential positive contribution to the university and university life Applicants who do not convince admission tutors on the first of the five points above are those most at risk of rejection, but if you can impress the reader on all these points, you may secure the place of your dreams. If interviews are used for the course, what you put in your personal statement is likely to form the basis of some of the questions asked at interview. Remember: Your statement must not be more than 4000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of text (including blank lines) so make the most of those available. Aim for around 70–80% of the statement to reflect your chosen course (include information on knowledge, qualities, skills, interests and experiences), i.e. the bulk of the statement should be about how and why you are suitable to study the course. Provide evidence to support your personal qualities and skills. For example, instead of: ‘I am a good communicator’ write, ‘I have, for 2 years running, won first prize in Youth Speaks competitions.’ Restrict reference to your current studies to highlights about how they support your interest in the course or why you chose a particular combined course. Keep the structure and language simple. Avoid using words you do not fully understand. Keep your sentences short. Punctuate carefully. Exclamation marks (!) should be used rarely, if at all. Be positive. Always talk about what you have done and achieved, not what you have planned (unless it is going to happen before your interview) or have not had the opportunity to achieve. Be honest and enthusiastic (check that the end product sounds like you — get a friend or teacher to give you their opinions too). Don’t boast (if the referee does this for you, your achievements will count a lot more). Don’t appear arrogant. There is a fine line between coming across as confident and appearing arrogant or overconfident. Demonstrate that you are mature and have your own ideas. Come across as a well-rounded individual. Check your spelling and grammar — proofread (and ask somebody else to do it) carefully. And then, proofread again. Keep doing this until you get it right. Avoid: Using headings (they take up too many valuable words) Clichés Waffle Philip Allan Updates © 2015 2 Lying Generalising (be specific and support your points with examples) Trying to sound clever, e.g. by giving long quotes, making unsupported claims, or using unfamiliar language Listing your exam results Producing lists of things you have read or done — the important things are what you have learnt or what skills you demonstrated when you have undertaken various things, or what opinions you have formed Repetition — this applies to repeating both words (use a thesaurus) and ideas Avoid being boring (the best way to do this is by following advice) Making unhelpful statements, such as ‘I enjoy watching television’, ‘I go to clubs with my friends’ Copying from anything at all, including other people’s personal statement (UCAS checks!) Starting too many sentences with ‘I.’ So, instead of: ‘I have captained the first eleven football team…’ write: ‘Having captained the first eleven football team…’ Being modest and underselling yourself Using colloquialisms (slang) Trying to sound funny Referring to a specific university or specific university course (other universities will not like it) — the only time you can do this is if, for some reason, you have only applied for one course Taking a particular political standpoint Personal statement structure Start by collating information under these headings before you start to write. Introduction: Why do you want to do this course? How can you show you know what the course involves? Supporting information that demonstrates a desire to do the course, e.g. background reading. Refer to skills and attributes that you have developed and are relevant for the course. Interests, hobbies, activities and responsibilities: Which of your experiences and attributes would be useful for the course? This can help to show that you are a well-rounded individual. Conclusion: A strong statement about your reasons for applying for the course. This can be linked to your career intentions or ambitions. Introduction This is your opportunity to capture the attention of the reader and make yourself memorable. What is the background to your interest in this subject? For example: Philip Allan Updates © 2015 3 ‘In my childhood I enjoyed going on nature walks in all seasons. As I grew older, I became particularly fascinated about circannual rhythms of animal behaviour, such as hibernation.’ You may have worked in a laboratory during the summer, in which case mention the research you helped with. You might refer to inspirational reading that has fired your enthusiasm to pursue biological studies further: ‘Richard Dawkins has particularly inspired me. I am especially intrigued by his links between genes and [some particular] animal behaviour.’ Remember an interviewer is likely to ask for further details and/or specific examples. Supporting information Mention any courses, trips, workshops, visits, employment, work experience or shadowing that relate to the course. Include what skills you demonstrated and what you learnt from your experiences. Refer to involvement in schemes, e.g. Young Enterprise, Duke of Edinburgh. Give specific examples of experiences that demonstrate an interest in your subject, for example: books, journals, newspapers, magazines (give details of what you have read and comment on some aspect of it) interesting/relevant talks relevant films or documentaries a relevant project or piece of coursework Interests, hobbies, activities and responsibilities Which of your attributes would be useful for your intended course? Comment on sporting, musical, dramatic and artistic achievements and the skills that you developed from the activities, such as teamwork, leadership. Mention any areas of responsibility and skills you developed in undertaking your role. Conclusion This is your opportunity to make an impression. A strong statement about the reasons for applying for the course is needed. This can be linked to future career intentions or ambitions. Some of the suggestions that follow here could also be included earlier. State your career aspirations if they relate to the course. Make a strong statement about what you intend to gain from your higher education (HE) studies and what it means to you to do this course. Comment on how you look forward to the way of working at HE level and particular skills and attributes you want to develop. If you are going on a gap year, show how the year will contribute to your suitability for the course. Philip Allan Updates © 2015 4 Plenty of other structures will work, but what most good ones have in common is flow from one part to another, an introduction and a conclusion. Useful websites for biological courses Biochemical Society: www.biochemsoc.org.uk Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council: www.bbsrc.ac.uk Bristol Zoo: www.bristolzoo.org.uk British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums: www.biaza.org British Ecological Society: www.britishecologicalsociety.org British Society for Human Genetics: www.bshg.org.uk British Society for Immunology: http://bsi.immunology.org Countryside Agency: www.countryside.gov.uk Directory of Environmental Science: www.biodiversity.org.uk Edinburgh Zoo: www.edinburghzoo.org.uk Environmental Agency: www.environment-agency.gov.uk Federation of European Microbiological Societies: www.fems-microbiology.org Forensic Science Laboratory: www.forensicscience.ie Forensic Science Service: www.forensic.gov.uk Forensic Science Society: www.forensic-science-society.org.uk Friends of the Earth: www.foe.co.uk Genetics Society: www.genetics.org.uk Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.org Institute of Biology: www.iob.org Institute of Biomedical Science: www.ibms.org MarineBio: http://marinebio.org Marine Biological Association of the UK: www.mba.ac.uk Marine Institute: www.marine.ie Marwell Zoo: www.marwell.org.uk Scicentral: www.scicentral.com Scottish Environmental Protection Agency: www.sepa.org.uk Society of Biology: www.societyofbiology.org Society for Applied Microbiology: www.sfam.org Society for General Microbiology: www.sgm.ac.uk Philip Allan Updates © 2015 5 UK Biodiversity: www.ukbap.org.uk UK Institute for Conservation: www.ukic.org.uk Wellcome Trust: http://www.wellcomecollection.org/ World Wide Fund for Nature: www.wwf-uk Zoological Society of London: http://www.zsl.org Background reading for biological courses Save newspaper cuttings (or keep photocopies) that have interested you. Keep a note of the date, author and source. For other forms of reading, write down the details of what you are reading and then write down your reflections. Try to be analytical. What was the book/chapter/article about? What did you find interesting and why? A Sting in the Tale, Dave Goulson, Jonathan Cape, 2013 An Introduction to Marine Ecology, R. S. Barnes and R. N. Hughes, Wiley-Blackwell, 1999 An Appetite for Wonder: the Making of a Scientist, Richard Dawkins, Bantam, 2013 Bad Science, B. Goldacre, Harper Perennial, 2009 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW — four issues per year: http://magazines.philipallan.co.uk/magazine Biology, Neil A. Campbell et al., Pearson Education, 2014 Cell Biology, C. Smith and E. J. Wood, Nelson Thornes, 1996 Cod: a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, Mark Kurlansky, Vintage, 1999 Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage, Peter Forbes, Yale University, 2011 Elegance in Science, I. Glynn, Oxford University Press, 2010 Immunology, Thau Doan, Roger Melvold, Susan Viselli and Carl Waltenbaugh, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2007 Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life, John Mortissey and James Sumich, Jones and Bartlett, 2011 Life: the Science of Biology, International Edition, David Sadava et al., Palgrave, 2010 Mapping the Deep: the Extraordinary Story of Ocean Science, Robert Kunzig, Sort Of Books, 2000 Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity, Ecology, Jeffrey S. Levinton, OUP USA, 2008 Microbe Hunters, P. De Kruif, Kessinger Publishing Co., 2005 Microbiology, Richard A. Harvey, Cynthia Nau Cornelissen and Bruce D. Fisher, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2012 Molecular Biology of the Cell, Bruce Alberts et al., Garland, 2008 Nature International Weekly Journal of Science: http://www.nature.com Philip Allan Updates © 2015 6 New Scientist, 51 weekly issues: http://www.newscientist.com Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We Live, Marlene Zuc, W W Norton and Company Ltd, 2013 Practical Skills in Biology, Allan Jones et al., Benjamin Cummings, 2007 The Diversity of Life, Edward O. Wilson, Penguin, 2001 The Language of the Genes, S. Jones, Flamingo, 2000 Molecular Biology of the Cell, B. Alberts et al., Garland Publishing, 2008 The Music of Life: Biology beyond the Genome, N. Noble, Oxford University Press, 2006 The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, R. Dawkins (ed), Oxford University Press, 2009 The Physiology of Excitable Cells, D. Aidley, Cambridge University Press, 1998 The Selfish Gene, R. Dawkins, Oxford University Press (revised edition), 2006 The Serpent’s Promise: The Bible Retold as Science, S. Jones et al., Little Brown, 2013 Wonderful Life: Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, Stephen Jay Gould, Vintage, 2000 R. Dawkins’ and S. J. Gould’s other books also provide thought provoking material for this subject. Other useful websites General advice Aim Higher: www.aimhigher.ac.uk/home/ Connexions: www.connexions.gov.uk NUS: www.nusonline.co.uk HE and research opportunities in the UK: www.hero.ac.uk Interactive careers education guidance: www.fasttomato.co.uk Guide to life and learning: www.hcstuff.com Course suitability The Morrisby Profile: www.morrisby.com Kudos: www.cascaid.co.uk Finding an HE focus Woody’s Webwatch: www.woodyswebwatch.com Centigrade Online: www.centigradeonline.co.uk Unistats: http://unistats.direct.gov.uk National learners’ database in Ireland: www.qualifax.ie Graduate opportunities Careers guidance: www.prospects.ac.uk Links to careers websites: www.careers-portal.co.uk Philip Allan Updates © 2015 7 Student and graduate job site: www.thebigchoice.com Chris Christofi has written many books on biology and education. He has guided numerous candidates through the university application process. His book Best UCAS Personal Statement: a Handbook for All Subject Areas is distributed by Prospects (www.prospectseducationresources.co.uk) as a pdf. This resource is part of BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW, a magazine written for A-level students by subject experts. To subscribe to the full magazine go to www.hoddereducation.co.uk/biologicalsciencesreview Philip Allan Updates © 2015 8