Uni Application - Starting a Personal Statement

Gall1987 · 20 Oct 2009 at 20:32

Hi

I am writing my personal statement for University and I am really struggling of how to start it.

I know the aim is to get the admissions tutor interested so they want to read on but it's always the first bit that I struggle with.

I am looking at studying Computing/Computer Science at mid-range Uni's. I was going to start it stating why I was interested in Computing but looking around a few sites it looks as though the weak statements have started by putting something like "I love Computing because..."

Anybody any ideas on how they would start one or has anybody completed one in the last few years and got any tips?

Thanks for any help

Sinque · 20 Oct 2009 at 20:34

I've been meaning to complete mine for weeks now, I just really can't be bothered doing it... I can't think of any content to put on the page, i've lead a basic life. Go to school, do GCSEs, go to college, do A-Levels. Nothing external

JonJ678 · 20 Oct 2009 at 20:45

I want to read computer science because I want to help people

I loathed writing mine. All the more because the few teaching academics I know socially seem to consider them worthless as a result of being so extensively moderated by the schools. Computer science shouldn't be that tricky compared to some others though, why do you actually want to study it?

I'm reading mechanical engineering. I'm very fond of taking machinery apart so it seemed a fair guess I'd like it.

Gall1987 · 20 Oct 2009 at 20:51

I've read a few and thought they were pretty good, only told be told they are bad examples!

I'm quite like Forensic Computing and would like to get in to that but not enough to just Forensic Computing. That's why I've picked Computing.

Another thing that has confused me is that at some Uni's they only do Computer Science and others do Computing and Computer Science. That's fair enough but the some Uni's have the same UCAS course code but one calls it Computing and the other calls it Computer Science!

I'm not looking forward to writing it at all, but hopefully once I've started it will be easy enough.

JonJ678 · 20 Oct 2009 at 21:01

What is it you like, exactly? Picking a degree on a whim isn't a great idea, it's much better to be sure of yourself. I like computers, but not enough to spend a year of my life working on the details of networking. By forensic computing, do you mean data carving or something else? I've found looking for pieces of files I've lost incredibly dull. I'm not attempting to put you off, but rather to get you to think carefully about whether this is the course you want to go down.

I don't know the difference between those two, as I haven't looked at the course details for either. At a guess computer science will be mathematics/networking/programming and computing will be softer. Either is likely to involve considerable time debugging code which looks like it should work and somehow doesn't.

I'm guessing here, as I don't study it and have no close friends who do. I fear the courses will vary tremendously with location. One piece of interdisciplinary advice is to largely ignore the prospectus and find some of the lecture notes/recommended text books from their website, most let the general public look at parts of the areas labelled "current students"

Gall1987 · 20 Oct 2009 at 21:08

I think Computing will be more suited then. I wouldn't say I have one area that I like over others but I've been a few open days and read a lot about forensic and that sounds very interesting but I also like web management and the software side of things.

JonJ678 · 20 Oct 2009 at 21:31

In that case I think it is very important that you spend time looking at the course pages for the various universities that have caught your eye so far. You may otherwise find yourself applying for a completely inappropriate course, which you'll either be rejected from or find yourself forced to study. Uni is hard, doing a course you hate takes a lot of willpower.

I was under the impression that computer science is a strongly academic course. I would only approach such a degree from a maths/physics background. I may well be wrong here, again its the course pages that will tell you. However I am certain that deciding confidently why and where you want to do this subject will solve the issue of starting the personal statement.

Nitefly · 20 Oct 2009 at 21:35

What first inspired you to decide you wanted a career along these lines or to study the corresponding course?

On the basis of this, how have you used your initiative to investigate more about the course or a career along these lines (work experience, for example)?

What skills do you have that make you suited to the course?

That will get you started.

sigma · 20 Oct 2009 at 21:35

Start it with:

My interest in computers started at a young age, I was often found sticking a three and a half inch floppy into all manor of orifices.

Well not quite that but the first few words are ok. Then just basically go on about what interests you about the degree, what you hope to learn and that you are looking forward to being able to spend a lot of time learning the ins and outs of your chosen subject.

-Ad- · 20 Oct 2009 at 23:07

Generic things these.

Just get out info about yourself, and not just whoring up how much you love the subject. Bring in some real life situations where it has come in use, you have enjoyed etc.