Writing an excellent Personal Statement is a major chance to showcase yourself and also stick out on the crowd. What Oxbridge looks for is a bit of different from other universities, so here are some pointers that may help you create a standout Oxbridge Personal Statement.
- Start Drafting Early
The additional measure of planning that an Oxbridge software requires, mixed with the mid-October deadline, would mean that you should attempt so you can start planning your Personal Statement towards the tail end of Year 12.
It typically takes a good number of drafts before you’ve a completely polished Personal Statement staring back at you, so preferably the first draft of yours must be completed by the tail end of the summer vacation before Year 13. This implies that you need to attempt to have completed any extra reading or maybe work experience that you wish to write about in your Statement by then as well.
Tip: When you haven’t determined which course you wish to study yet, begin planning a much more general Personal Statement, or maybe even 2 separate ones for two different subjects. Writing about your enthusiasm and experiences will most likely help your decision-making process!
- Focus on your academic achievements and interests
Admissions decisions at Oxford and Cambridge are exclusively based on academic ability and potential, thus you should focus on showcasing your understanding and passion for your chosen subject. We’ve written a guide about navigating Oxbridge’s attitude towards extracurriculars which explains much more about this.
You are able to show your interest and potential in the subject of yours with examples of books you have read through, an EPQ you have written, a prize you’ve won, lectures you have attended, documentaries you have watched, podcasts you have listened to, and really anything at all you can think of!
Tip:
Instead of: “I am interested in molecular biology”
Try: “My interest in molecular biology led me to read X”
- Set yourself up for an interview
Most prosperous Oxbridge candidates are interviewed during the admissions process, and interviewers often draw on things stated in the Personal Statement.
For Oxbridge personal statement help which will place you in control of the employment interview almost as possible, you can leave’ hooks’ because of the interviewer which point them towards subjects you will have the capability to chat about confidently. For instance, in case you write:”I was captivated by the parallels between Ovid’s amores and Contemporary love poetry”, you need to look to be asked what in particular you found fascinating.
This is one reason why it is really vital that you be truthful in your Personal Statement. You should never claim to have read through a book that you simply haven’t (even in case you intend to read it after submitting your UCAS form, as who knows what is going to happen!) You also should not pretend to have an interest in an an item only because you feel it’ll sound impressive. Interviewers are likely to ask you about it which is going to be pretty clear in case you aren’t truly interested.
- Show that you are intellectually curious and thoughtful
Oxbridge admissions tutors are searching for thoughtful and perceptive students that are wondering about their chosen subject. The amount of information you’ve consumed on your topic isn’t as important as how deeply you’ve considered each one. For example, there’s simply no stage listing thirteen books that you have looked over without having ideas or comments about any of them.
To demonstrate a thoughtful approach to the studies of yours, you are able to do things like:
Give a good example of some thing you found especially intriguing in what you learned, as well as explain exactly why you found it interesting.
Write about the process which led you to discover a brand new idea or material.
For example: “Learning a at school led me to read X. I was particularly interested by the chapter on B, because …. This led me to more research B by observing Y.”
Draw links between topics, guides, articles, films or lectures to show that you are not only capable of eating info, but processing and analysing it.
For example: Did 2 different theorists interpret an idea differently? Do you have a theme which runs through a set of publications you’ve read? Did you don’t agree with an opinion provided at a lecture?
- Try being original…
In 2019, Oxford University received over 23,000 undergraduate applications for roughly 3,300 locations. The great bulk of these candidates have great grades, which might make it difficult to jump out on the masses. This is where your ability to be original and perceptive comes in. Think about how the area of interest that you’re applying for relates to your various other scientific studies, the world around you, and even the personal encounters of yours.
For example, almost every Classics pupil out there will understand the plot of Medea, but how a lot of them will have the ability to show it’s since been stolen by the screenwriters of Eastenders? Did campaigning for probably the most recent election remind you of a portion of propaganda from the first World War?
Remember that the people who’ll examine interview, and your application you, have launched a career from the chosen subject of theirs, and it actually is the passion of theirs. They will genuinely be interested to have a chat with you if you are able to bring an interesting or original thought to your Personal interview and Statement.
- …but don’t overdo it
Don’t attempt to be original for the benefit of it. And do not go crazy together with the thesaurus – completely focus on being specific as opposed to struggling to be a lexical aficionado (annoying, right?)
- Proof read, then proof read again
One thing that can adversely have an effect on the viewpoint of Admissions Tutors is a typo. Even if it is something really minor, some tutors are extremely stringent on accuracy, and it may be the big difference between receiving an offer or even not.
Proof-read your Personal Statement several times yourself, and then ask teachers, friends, or your parents to look over it over, hunting specifically for grammatical errors or typos. A good deal of the time, it is easier for someone with new eyes to notice a typo than with the person writing.
- Do not name drop Oxbridge
Remember you need your Personal Statement being relevant to all 5 of the universities you are applying to. This suggests that you should not note Oxford, Cambridge, or any other faculty by name.